THE  PEOPLE  OF 
TIPI  SAPA 


TIPI  SAPA  MITAOYATE  KIN 


SARAH  EMILIA  OLDEN 


TIPI  SAPA 


TIPI  SAPA 

THE    REV.    P.    J.    DELORIA 


The  People 

OF 

Tipi  Sapa 

(The  Dakotas) 
TIFI  SAPA  /VUTAOYATE  KIN 


By 
SARAH  EAILIA  OLDEN 

With  Foreword  by 

HUGH  LATIAER  BURLESON 
Bishop  of  South  Dakota 


Aorehouse  Publishing  Co. 
Milwaukee,  Wis. 


If* 


COPYRIGHT    BT   THB 

MOEBHOUSB  PUBLISHING  Co. 
1918 


IN 

LOVING  MEMORY 

OF 
MY  MOTHER 


i 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

FOREWORD.    Rt.  Rev.  H.  L.  Burleson,  D.D xi 

PREFACE xv 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  TIPI  SAPA     ...  i 

I.     THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  INDIANS     ....  24 

II.    THE  CIRCLE,  ETC 33 

III.  THE  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN      ...  40 

IV.  HONORING  CHILDREN 45 

V.     BOYS 52 

VI.    MARRIAGE 58 

VII.    MARRIAGE   (Continued) 65 

VIII.    THREE  KINDS  OF  FIGHTING  ...  75 

IX.    GHOSTS 82 

X.     COMMUNICATING  WITH  SPIRITS       ...  88 

XL    BUFFALO  HUNTING     .......  97 

XII.     SOCIETIES 1Q5 

XIII.  SOCIETIES   (Continued) 115 

XIV.  GAMES J25 

XV.     BANDS  (Wicoti) 135 

XVI.     A  BUNDLE  OF  TOBACCO 141 

XVII.    THE  SUN  DANCE 146 

XVIII.    THE  PRESENT  AND  THE  FUTURE      .     .  153 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

TIPI  SAPA.    REV.  PHILIP  JOSEPH  DELOBIA     .     Frontispiece 

A  DAKOTA  VILLAGE Opp.  p.  24 

BUSTS  OF  DAKOTA  INDIANS 32 

A  SCALP  DANCE 34 

A  DAKOTA  WOMAN  [Two  views] 42 

AN  INDIAN  RATTLE 44 

VINE  DELOBIA,  SON  OF  TIPI  SAPA 52 

A  DAKOTA  WOMAN 60 

CAPE  FOB  A  MAN.    DAKOTA  INDIANS 62 

THE  ENEMY  Is  COMING!     Gary 74 

FUNEBAL  SCAFFOLD  OF  A  DAKOTA  CHIEF      ....  82 

CBOW  CHIEF  ON  HOBSEBACK 90 

CALLING  THE  BUFFALO  BACK.    Gary 94 

IN  THE  NICK  OF  TIME.    Gary 98 

BUFFALO  THBOWING  THE  HUNTEB.    Gary     ...  100 
THE  BUFFALO  HUNTEB'S  RETUBN.    A  CBOW  HUNTING 

CAMP.    Gary 102 

A  DAKOTA  WABBIOB 120 

PIPE  POUCHES 128 

DAKOTA  SHIELDS 134 

FEAST  GIVEN  TO  "GBEAT  WHITE  CHIEFS"    .  144 


FOREWORD 

0HE  people  of  Tipi  Sapa,  known  to  the  world 
as  Sioux,  but  whose  true  title  is  "Dakotas" 
(The  Federation  of  Brothers),  are  among  the 
most  interesting  and  virile  of  our  aboriginal 
Americans;  and  among  them  none  exercises 
greater  leadership  than  the  man  whose  reminis 
cences  have  been  gathered  into  this  volume.  It 
was  fortunate  that,  during  an  entire  winter,  one 
who  had  time  and  appreciation  was  able  to  get 
from  him  the  material  which  is  to  be  found  in  rich 
variety  in  the  following  pages.  Far  too  little  is 
known  about  the  home  life,  the  social  customs, 
and  the  religious  sanctions  of  our  Indian  races. 
It  is  in  these  things  that  the  character  of  a  people 
has  its  root.  Therefore  those  who  read  this  vol 
ume  will  find  in  it  much  that  is  revealing  and 
stimulating.  It  does  not  purport  to  be  an  ex 
haustive,  or  even  an  orderly,  treatise,  but  rather 
the  familiar  "reminiscings"  of  a  man  who,  looking 
at  the  years  behind  him,  tries  to  interpret  their 
significant  features  that  he  may  help  to  reveal  his 
people  to  another  race. 

Tipi  Sapa,  the  Rev.  Philip  J.  Deloria,  now  past 
sixty  years  of  age,  has  for  twenty-six  years  been 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 


our  priest  on  the  Standing  Rock  Reservation.  As 
the  son  of  a  chief  he  took  his  share  in  the  conflicts 
of  his  tribe,  and  was  a  warrior  of  no  mean  renown. 
It  was  the  Rev.  Joseph  W.  Cook  who,  in  1870, 
won  the  attention  of  Tipi  Sapa  to  the  teachings  of 
the  Gospel.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the 
music  of  an  old  hymn  was  a  potent  factor  in  his 
conversion.  In  speaking  of  it  he  says : 

"One  day  I  passed  the  little  church.  Out  of 
the  open  window  I  heard  the  sound  of  voices. 
The  tune  they  sang  was  pleasant  to  hear,  so  I 
went  to  the  church  for  three  successive  Sundays, 
but  that  tune  was  not  sung.  On  the  fourth 
Sunday  I  heard  the  hymn  I  longed  for.  The  man 
next  me  sang  it  from  a  book.  I  listened  and 
got  the  words  of  the  first  verse  and  learned  them 
by  heart.  When  I  left  the  church  I  could  carry 
the  tune  and  sing  the  first  verse  of  the  Dakota 
translation  of  'Guide  me,  O  Thou  Great  Jehovah', 
and  I  felt  that  I  was  the  possessor  of  a  great 
treasure." 

It  was  not  long  afterward  that  Philip  Deloria 
made  his  decision  to  enlist  as  a  soldier  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  he  was  baptized  on  Christmas  Day, 
1870.  From  that  time  until  his  ordination  to  the 
priesthood  he  served  the  Church  in  the  capacity 
of  lay  reader  and  of  deacon. 

Of  Tipi  Sapa  himself  there  is  little  trace  in  this 
volume;  at  least  in  any  ordinary  biographical 
form.  He  tells  the  story  of  his  people  very  simply, 
very  humbly,  and  very  effectively.  In  this  there 


FOREWORD 


is  a  value — and  a  loss.  The  atmosphere  of  the 
race  will  be  felt  by  those  who  read ;  but  they  will 
not  know — because,  being  what  he  is,  he  could 
not  tell — how  his  own  life  has  blessed  and  helped 
his  own  people.  For  that,  one  must  read  between 
the  lines. 

HUGH  L.  BURLESON. 


PREFACE 

3T  was  my  good  fortune  to  spend  the  winter  of 
1916-17  at  the  Industrial  School  for  Indian 
boys  and  girls,  connected  with  St.  Elizabeth's 
Mission,  Wakpala,  on  Standing  Rock  Reserva 
tion,  in  the  northern  part  of  South  Dakota.  I 
found  myself  in  the  heart  of  the  prairie  land,  in 
that  wild  country,  the  home  of  the  "First  People", 
and  the  former  haunt  of  the  buffalo ;  the  country 
whose  grandeur  thrills  and  whose  air  exhilarates, 
and  which  possesses  an  atmosphere  not  to  be  per 
ceived  elsewhere  in  the  whole  world.  We  cannot 
begin  to  realize  the  greatness  of  this  United  States 
until  we  have  seen  the  prairies — broad,  vast,  limit 
less,  with  innumerable  "cattle  upon  a  thousand 
hills",  with  herds  of  horses  grazing  on  the  plains 
and  in  the  picturesque  valleys;  and  with  camps 
nestling  in  the  bits  of  timber  that  fringe  the  edges 
of  creeks  and  rivers.  They  extend  into  space  on 
every  hand  as  far  as  eye  can  reach ;  and,  just  as 
they  blend  with  the  circle  of  the  horizon,  present 
the  appearance  of  countless  blue  billows  rolling 
over  some  mighty  ocean. 

As  the  firmament  here  especially  "showeth  the 
handiwork  of  God,  so  do  the  heavens  declare  most 


xvi  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

abundantly  His  glory" ;  for  the  brilliant  gold,  deep 
crimson,  and  cold  green  of  the  sunset  sky  are 
never  to  be  forgotten,  neither  is  the  starry  frame 
that  succeeds  them.  On  account  of  the  clearness 
of  the  atmosphere,  the  moon  and  stars  seem  close 
at  hand  and  of  exceptional  brightness.  Then,  in 
a  moment,  the  dark,  angry  wind  clouds  gather  to 
gether,  streaked  with  a  lightning  that  flashes 
from  pole  to  pole,  and,  bursting  with  a  volley 
of  sound,  pour  forth  their  treasures  of  rain  and 
hail.  Whether  these  prairies  are  buried  beneath 
several  feet  of  drifted  snow,  when  earth  and 
sky  and  all  things  therein  seem  frozen  solid; 
whether  they  are  covered  with  the  fresh  green 
garment  of  the  opening  spring  or  with  the  dried 
yellow-brown  grass  of  the  summer  and  autumn, 
they  have  a  charm,  a  power,  a  fascination,  pecu 
liarly  their  own. 

This  is  the  land  of  Tipi  Sapa,  and  his  home 
is  a  white  cottage  situated  between  the  School 
buildings  and  the  Church  of  St.  Elizabeth's  Mis 
sion.  I  was  afforded  many  a  pleasant  and  profit 
able  hour  in  conversation  with  him,  in  reading 
various  books,  and  in  taking  the  notes  contained 
in  this  little  volume.  I  was  also  regaled  with 
hearing  him  sing  all  the  songs  in  this  book.  A 
winter  spent  on  the  Dakota  prairie  lands  in  such 
society  was  favorable  for  one's  intellectual  as  well 
as  spiritual  development,  and  an  unusual  as  well 
as  an  intensely  interesting  experience. 

On  December  14,  1916,  Mr.  Deloria  held  a 


PREFACE 


xvn 


service  in  St.  Elizabeth's  Church  at  the  exact  time 
of  Bishop  Burleson's  consecration  in  the  Cathe 
dral  of  St.  John  the  Divine,  New  York  City.  He 
made  a  beautiful  address,  and  translated  part  of  it 
into  English  for  the  benefit  of  the  teachers  at  the 
school.  He  spoke  of  God's  watchful  providence 
in  the  past  over  the  District  of  South  Dakota,  and 
continued :  "Now  the  consecrating  Bishop  is  lay 
ing  his  hands  on  the  head  of  Dr.  Burleson,  and 
the  Spirit  is  working.  He  is  no  longer  the  former 
Dr.  Burleson,  but  a  new  man.  He  has  been 
facing  the  East  as  the  service  goes  on.  Now  he 
is  turning  around  towards  us  in  the  Great  West, 
in  South  Dakota.  He  will  soon  be  with  us,  and 
we  must  give  him  our  loyal  support." 

The  Indians  retain  very  few  of  their  old 
customs,  but  they  still  hold,  every  Christmas 
night,  a  great  "Dakota  Feast". 

The  teachers  of  St.  Elizabeth's  School  and  I 
were  fortunate  enough  to  be  invited  to  this  enter 
tainment.  We  had  been  looking  forward  to  it  for 
weeks,  hoping  that  nothing  would  interfere ;  but 
on  Christmas  eve  there  was  a  tremendous  wind 
and  heavy  snow — almost  a  blizzard.  The  next 
afternoon  Tipi  Sapa  came  over  and  said :  "Miss 
Olden,  I  don't  think  you  had  better  go  to  the 
Feast  to-night.  It  is  dark  and  the  walking  is  very 
bad  —  drifts  and  hollows.  You  might  take  a 
tumble  on  your  nose.  I  am  just  advising  you ;  so 
if  you  go  and  anything  should  happen,  do  not 
blame  me." 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 


Our  disappointment  knew  no  bounds.  We 
were  settling  down  in  the  office  for  a  long,  dull 
evening,  when  a  joyful  sound  greeted  our  ears. 
Sleighbells!  We  rushed  to  the  door  and  there 
found  good  Samuel  Cadotte  with  his  sleigh,  ready 
to  take  us  to  the  Feast.  In  five  minutes  we  were 
off,  with  the  bitter  cold  wind  and  the  snow  beating 
against  our  faces. 

The  Feast  was  held  in  the  guild  house  below 
the  hill,  not  very  far  away.  We  arrived  between 
five  and  six  and  were  ushered  into  the  great  place 
of  meeting,  to  chairs  placed  for  us  by  the  stove. 
Indians  from  all  over  the  Reservation  were 
present,  the  men  sitting  on  the  floor  in  rows  on 
one  side  of  the  building,  the  women  and  children 
on  the  other.*  The  meeting  had  been  in  session 
for  sometime,  and  the  melodeon  was  in  full 
swing.  Hymn  singing  and  speech  making  were 
the  order  of  the  evening.  Three  or  four  Indians 
from  Standing  Rock  Reservation  made  addresses. 
All  the  Indians,  both  men  and  women,  speak  well 
in  public.  Homer  Clark,  an  Indian  from  Crow 
Creek  Reservation,  seemed  to  be  most  entertain 
ing  in  his  remarks. 

Next  day,  I  inquired  as  to  what  it  was  all 
about,  and  learned  that  Mr.  Clark  had  been  telling 
his  audience  they  were  especially  fortunate  on 
this  (Standing  Rock)  Reservation,  far  more  so 

*  in  church  the  men  are  seated  on  one  side,  the  women  on 
the  other.  The  tiny  children  creep  about  on  the  floor.  The  dogs 
walk  in  unconcernedly,  but  depart  with  much  yelping,  being 
forcibly  ejected  by  the  sexton. 


PREFACE  xix 

than  on  any  of  the  others.  They  had  St.  Eliza 
beth's  School  with  its  staff  of  teachers  and  its  far- 
reaching  influence.  Above  all,  they  had  Mr. 
Deloria  (Tipi  Sapa)  constantly  going  about  and 
doing  good,  inspiring  and  uplifting  them,  and 
comforting  them  in  time  of  trouble.  They  ought 
to  be  storing  away  all  this  good,  making  the  most 
of  it,  for  when  he  is  taken  away,  his  place  will 
be  a  most  difficult  one  to  fill. 

Paul  Yellow  Bear  and  his  family  from  North 
Dakota  were  present,  as  they  were  visiting  St. 
Elizabeth's  Mission  during  the  holidays.  His 
wife  made  a  little  speech.  After  he  had  in 
terpreted  the  Arickara  into  Dakota  to  Ella 
Deloria,  she  in  turn  translated  for  us.*  Mrs. 
Yellow  Bear  said:  "I  feel  very  humble  when  I 
see  you,  and  all  that  you  do.  We  have  greatly 
enjoyed  our  stay  with  you.  We  have  never  seen 
more  beautiful  kindness,  generosity,  and  hospi 
tality.  When  we  go  away,  we  shall  love  to  think 
of  you  all  at  Standing  Rock,"  and  much  more 
to  the  same  effect. 

The  time  for  refreshments  had  arrived.  A 
crier  appeared  and  announced  the  names  of  those 
who  were  to  dine  first.  The  people  had  to  go  in 
detachments,  as  the  new  log  house  in  which  the 
meal  was  served  was  not  large  enough  to  accomo- 
date  such  a  crowd  at  one  time.  Everything 
throughout  was  conducted  in  the  most  orderly 


*  The  Arickaras  occupied  the  land  now  called  Dakota  before 
the  Sioux. 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 


and  dignified  manner.  The  room  was  nicely 
decorated  in  white  and  green.  The  long  tables 
were  neatly  set,  and  there  was  food  in  abundance 
— chicken  soup,  stewed  chicken,  bread  and  butter, 
tea  and  coffee,  canned  fruits,  stewed  June  ber 
ries,  cake,  and  innumerable  pies.  It  is  won 
derful  how  well  these  Indian  women  prepare 
such  a  sumptuous  and  good  repast,  and  for  so 
large  a  gathering,  as  they  have  so  few  con 
veniences.  They  have  to  carry  wood  and  water 
a  long  way,  and  their  cooking  utensils  are  few  in 
number. 

While  the  companies  of  people  were  being 
served  in  turn,  those  who  had  finished  repaired  to 
the  guild  house  and  joined  together  in  singing 
hymns  once  more.  This  and  the  speeches  con 
tinued  for  some  hours  longer.  We  waited  for 
the  crowning  act  of  a  Dakota  Feast — the  hand 
shaking.  A  vigorous  Christmas  hymn  was 
played,  and  a  few  grouped  themselves  about  the 
melodeon  to  sing,  while  the  rest  of  the  people 
lined  up  around  the  building.  The  person  at  the 
end  of  the  line  then  started  to  shake  hands  with 
his  or  her  neighbor ;  and  so  on  all  the  way  along, 
until  each  individual  had  shaken  hands  with 
everyone  else  to  the  music  of  the  hymn.  Then 
we  drove  off,  in  the  crisp  air,  beneath  the  deep 
blue,  brilliantly  illuminated  heavens;  for  the 
storm  had  cleared  away.  Upon  reaching  our 
respective  abodes,  we  found  it  was  past  one 
a.  m. !  The  poor  little  babies  must  have  been  so 


PREFACE  »\ 

glad  to  find  themselves  in  their  sleeping  places! 
They  see  a  great  deal  of  life,  those  Indian  babies. 

Every  Sunday,  the  Indians  living  in  the  nearer 
portions  of  the  Reservation  flock  to  church.* 
They  come  in  "buggies",  then  turn  their  horses 
loose  outside.  It  is  a  joy  to  hear  the  hearty  re 
sponses  and  the  vigorous  singing  (unknown  at 
our  services  elsewhere). 

There  is  a  large  and  flourishing  branch  of  the 
Woman's  Auxiliary.  Meetings  are  held  every 
week,  from  ten  to  three.  The  members  make 
quilts  and  sell  them  at  good  prices  among  them 
selves,  and  in  that  way  bring  in  quite  an  amount 
of  money  for  missions. f  They  give  liberally  to 
war  work  also,  and  were  among  the  first  to  con 
tribute  to  the  Belgians  and  Armenians.  They 
are  very  poor,  but  go  without  food  and  deny 
themselves  in  other  ways  in  order  to  be  able  to 
give  money  to  different  objects.  At  the  times  of 
the  San  Francisco  earthquake,  and  of  the  flood 
in  Ohio,  they  responded  generously  to  the  call 
for  help  from  these  stricken  people. 

The  school  was  founded  nearly  thirty  years 
ago  by  Bishop  Hare  and  Mr.  Deloria,  making 
great  progress  under  the  guidance  of  the  compe 
tent  principal  and  her  staff  of  teachers. J  The 


*  Mr.  Deloria  is  responsible  for  four  other  Mission  churches  : 
St.  Thomas,  St.  John  the  Baptist,  Good  Shepherd  (in  Sitting 
Bull's  country),  and  one  at  Grand  River  Station. 

t  Last  year,  the  Indians  of  Standing  Rock  Reservation  took 
one  thousand  dollars  to  Indian  Convocation. 

t  The  present  principal  of  St.  Elizabeth's  School  is  Deacon 
ess  Gertrude  J.  Baker. 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 


members,  both  boys  and  girls,  of  the  Junior  Aux 
iliary,  meet  every  Sunday  evening,  and  conduct 
their  business  according  to  parliamentary  law. 
Letters  of  thanks  and  appeals  from  missionaries 
are  read,  and  talks  about  missions  are  given. 
This  little  auxiliary  has  made  contributions  for 
various  objects  needed  in  St.  Elizabeth's  (Mis 
sion)  Church,  and  sends  off  a  box  every  year.  It 
also  pays  for  the  education  of  a  girl  at  St.  Hilda's 
School,  Wuchang,  China. 

There  is  no  work  in  the  whole  Church  more 
worthy  of  support  than  St.  Elizabeth's  Indian 
School;  and  it  is  sorely  in  need  of  assistance 
during  these  difficult  war  times.  This  whole 
ecclesiastical  establishment  is  having  a  wonderful 
influence  for  good  in  our  far-away  Westerb 
country,  and  asks  for  our  help,  sympathy,  and 
prayer. 

There  are  five  thousand  Dakota  Indian  boys 
in  the  United  States  army,  all  eager  to  act  well 
their  part  in  the  great  War.  One  of  them,  in  a 
letter  to  Bishop  Burleson,  written  from  a  southern 
camp,  says:  "Well,  Bishop,  I  try  to  do  every 
thing  they  tell  me,  but  it  seems  to  me  it's  awful 
bloodthirsty"!  How  strange  a  comment  to 
emanate  from  a  Sioux  Indian ! 

All  the  Indians,  men,  women  and  children,  on 
Standing  Rock  Reservation,  in  Mr.  Deloria's 
jurisdiction,  are  members  of  the  Red  Cross.  In 
spired  by  his  energy  and  fervent  zeal,  they  are 
working  and  giving  with  vigor  and  enthusiasm. 


PREFACE  xxiil 

The    Star-Spangled    Banner    is    floating   in    the 
chancel  of  their  dearly  loved  church. 

Throughout  this  book  Dakota  will  be  used  for 
Sioux,  except  in  relating  incidents  where  the 
Indian  tribes  are  fighting  among  themselves. 
These  people  object,  now,  to  the  latter  term. 
Sioux  means  a  snake,  an  enemy;  Dakota  signifies 
allied,  friendly. 

The  cover  represents  a  good  conventional 
Dakota  design  such  as  is  used  in  their  bead  work, 
in  red,  black,  brown,  and  white,  the  four  primitive 
colors  of  the  Indians,  as  mentioned  in  the  peace- 
pipe  story  in  chapter  one.  The  sketch  within 
is  an  exact  copy  of  a  pipe  of  peace  given  to  the 
author  by  Tipi  Sapa.  He  also  gave  her  a  hand 
some  elk-skin  pipe  pouch  worked  in  beads  and 
porcupine  quills,  similar  to  the  largest  of  those 
shown  opposite  page  128.  The  two  sketches  were 
executed  by  Jean  Mitchell  Lawrence,  Princeton, 
N.  J.  The  illustrations,  other  than  the  portraits, 
are  reproductions  of  photographs  kindly  supplied 
by  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
New  York.  The  written  material  has  been  care 
fully  revised  by  Dr.  Wm.  C.  Sturgis,  head  of  the 
Educational  Department  of  the  Church  Missions 
House,  New  York  City,  for  whose  assistance  the 
author  is  deeply  grateful. 

New  York  City,  August,  1918. 


A  SHORT  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

OF  TIPI  SAPA 
PHILIP  JOSEPH  DELORIA 

IPI  SAPA,  who  has  furnished  the  material 
for  this  little  book,  was  born  over  sixty  years 
ago,  some  three  miles  from  what  is  now  the  city 
of  Mobridge,  South  Dakota.  His  mother's  father, 
Bear  Foot,  belonged  to  the  Black  Foot  Indians, 
and  was  a  noted  chief  of  the  Dakota  Nation. 
He  gave  his  daughter  the  poetical  name  of 
Siha  Sapewin.  This  girl  was  held  in  great  honor 
by  her  tribe,  and  married  a  Yankton  Dakota, 
Saswe,  who  afterward  became  a  famous  medicine 
man.  The  husband  bought  his  wife  with  horses, 
and  so  they  were  united  honorably  and  lawfully, 
according  to  the  first  form  of  marriage  mentioned 
in  Chapter  IV.  Their  first  three  children  were 
girls,  and  the  parents  were  sad  because  no  boy 
came  to  cheer  the  home.  Siha  Sapewin  was  a 
noble  type  of  woman— pure,  truthful,  upright,  in 
telligent,  and  possessing  great  ability.  She  ex 
celled  in  kindness,  especially  in  her  care  for  the 
neglected  little  ones  of  other  people,  and  brought 
up  three  or  four  children  that  were  left  in  camp. 
She  cooked  nice  food,  and  was  given  to  hospital- 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 


ity.  When  she  was  about  to  hold  a  feast,  she 
sent  a  crier  around  to  invite  a  great  many  women ; 
but  the  invitation  was  for  those  women  only  who 
had  but  one  husband,  and  who  intended  to  keep 
themselves  without  another  until  death. 

When  all  were  assembled  for  the  feast,  a  rock, 
painted  red,  was  placed  among  them,  and,  by  it, 
an  arrow  was  driven  into  the  ground.  A  long 
prayer  was  made  to  the  rock,  as  through  this 
natural  object  the  Great  Spirit  could  be  reached. 
A  man  of  good  standing  in  the  tribe,  appointed  to 
perform  this  ceremony,  called  the  women  forward, 
one  by  one,  to  make  the  vow  in  regard  to  having 
one  husband  only  all  their  lives.  He  had  to  reveal 
any  untruthfulness  on  the  part  of  the  women,  and 
in  that  case  be  absolutely  truthful  himself.  He 
pulled  the  arrow  from  the  ground  and  drew  it 
across  his  lips.  If  he  pronounced  a  woman  un 
truthful,  she  could  not  stay  for  the  feast.  She 
ran  the  chance,  also,  of  being  killed  by  an  arrow ; 
and  if  he  himself  erred  in  that  respect,  he  was 
liable  to  meet  his  death  either  in  that  way  or  by 
stumbling  over  a  rock.  Out  of  the  several  hun 
dred  invited,  five  or  six  women,  perhaps,  could 
remain  for  the  feast !  This  was  the  only  kind  of 
meeting  that  Siha  Sapewin  enjoyed,  and  she  made 
all  the  arrangements  for  them  herself.  She  did 
not  care  to  belong  to  any  societies. 

"Once  upon  a  time,  this  woman  made  a  prayer 
and  vow  to  the  Great  Spirit.  The  result  of  this 
prayer  was  a  baby  boy  to  gladden  the  mother's 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  TIPI  SAPA  3 

heart,  and  the  happy  woman  fulfilled  her  vow  by 
a  performance  of  the  'Thanksgiving  Ceremony'." 
This  beloved  son,  named  Tipi  Sapa,  has  told  the 
story  of  the  ceremony,  and  of  many  other  im 
portant  events  in  his  life,  in  an  article  published 
in  the  "Spirit  of  Missions"  for  August,  1915, 
which,  by  courtesy,  we  are  allowed  to  reprint  here. 

"The  offering  consisted  of  a  buffalo  robe  richly 
worked  with  porcupine  quills,  a  peace-pipe,  and 
a  small  bag,  also  embroidered  in  porcupine  quills, 
containing  a  lock  of  the  mother's  hair  and  a 
lock  of  the  child's  and  carefully  sealed.  All  these 
articles  were  tied  into  a  small  bundle  and  fastened 
to  the  tip  of  a  pole  which  was  erected  within 
the  tipi. 

"When  all  these  preparations  were  accom 
plished,  Blackfoot  Woman  called  together  the  in 
fluential  people  of  the  tribe  to  her  tipi  and  gave 
them  a  feast.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  feast,  she 
lighted  a  pipe  of  peace,  presented  it  in  turn  to 
heaven,  to  the  four  winds,  and  to  the  earth,  and 
said: 

''  'Great  Spirit,  I  asked  thee  for  a  boy.  Thou 
hast  given  him  to  me.  I  am  happy.  I  pray  thee 
accept  my  thanks  and  these  gifts  which  I  have 
prepared  and  am  offering  to  thee.  May  my  son 
grow  up.  May  he  be  useful.  May  he  observe 
faithfully  those  laws  and  those  customs  which  we 
have  observed,  and  our  fathers  before  us.' 

"When  she  had  ended,  her  guests  with  one 
accord  cried  'Ha  ye'  (so  be  it).  Then  the  pole, 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 


with  the  offering  still  tied  to  it,  was  carried  to  a 
hill  and  planted  there.  People  going  by  saw  it, 
but  did  not  touch  it,  for  it  was  the  Great  Spirit  s 
property. 

"Thus  my  life  began. 

"When  I  was  old  enough  to  talk  and  unde 
stand  my  mother  began  to  teach  me  those  laws 
and  customs  which  she  wished  me  to  bear  in  mind. 
Out  of  all  her  lessons  I  remember  three  things 
she  emphasized.     She  said : 

"i.     'Never  forget  the  Great  Spirit  and  you 
will  be  able  to  do  all  you  attempt/ 

"2      To  hunt  and  obtain  food  to  sustain  1 
is  your  duty.     The  Great  Spirit  alone  can  help 

you  in  this.' 

"3  'In  your  tribe,  do  not  think  evil  things. 
Say  nothing  wrong.  Be  kind  to  the  poor  and  to 
the  orphans.  In  time  of  war,  be  brave  and  ac 
complish  those  things  which  a  man  should  ac 
complish.  Thus  will  the  tribe  think  well  of  you 
and  you  will  become  a  great  chief/ 

"I  was  taught  that  before  going  to  war  I  must 
publicly  pray  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  help  in  my 
undertakings.     I   must  cut  out  in  rawhide  the 
figure  of  a  man  and  tie  it  to  the  little  finger  of  my 
left  hand  and  take  part  in  the  sun-dance  where  3 
must  gaze  steadily  at  the  sun,  with  my  hands 
raised  up  in  prayer  as  I  danced.    My  prayer  must 
be  addressed  to  the  sun,  who  was  expected 
carry  my  petition  to  the  Great  Spirit. 

"After  appealing  in  this  way  to  the   Great 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  TIPI  SAPA  5 

Spirit,  and  not  until  then,  might  I  go  to  war.  If 
the  prayer  had  found  favor  in  his  eyes,  I  would 
be  victorious  in  battle.  In  that  case,  on  my 
return  it  was  my  duty  to  paint  my  face  black  and 
carry  the  enemies'  scalps  where  all  could  see  them, 
as  I  entered  the  camp.  These  signs  would  tell 
the  people  that  the  Great  Spirit  had  been  with  me ; 
that  I  was  brave,  and  able  to  protect  and  guide 
my  people.  Then  would  the  pipe  of  peace  be  con 
ferred  on  me  and  a  seat  be  given  me  with  the  other 
chiefs. 

"If  I  were  unsuccessful,  and  both  failed  to  get 
an  enemy's  scalp  and  lost  some  of  my  own  men,  I 
must  cover  my  body  with  dirt,  and  run  some 
sticks  (the  number  of  sticks  to  correspond  to  the 
number  of  men  lost)  into  the  flesh  of  my  forearm, 
and  enter  the  camp  of  my  people  wailing  my 
death-song.  These  signs  would  show  that  I  had 
failed  because  I  had  displeased  the  Great  Spirit, 
but  that  I  was  penitent.  My  tribe  would  then 
forgive  me  and  I  might  be  allowed  to  try  again 
at  the  time  of  the  next  party. 

"My  mother  had  said  I  would  be  given  a  peace- 
pipe  if  I  were  worthy.  She  taught  me  how  to  use 
a  peace-pipe,  should  I  ever  be  the  custodian  of  one 
as  a  chief.  One  of  the  times  to  use  it  was  at  the 
acquittal  of  a  murderer. 

"To  kill  an  enemy  in  battle  was  a  noble  thing. 
But  to  take  the  life  of  a  man  of  one's  own  tribe 
through  hatred  was  a  crime  deserving  severest 
punishment.  Thus  it  was  that  if  a  man  com- 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 


mitted  a  murder  in  the  tribe,  he  was  judged  by  the 
Great  Spirit.     The  council  of  chiefs  and  leaders 
met  in  the  council-tent,  and  sent  for  the  body  of 
the  murdered  man,  which  was  brought  and  laid 
in  the  rear  of  the  lodge.     The  warriors  then  went 
after  the  murderer.     He  was  tied  to  a  wild,  un 
broken  horse  and  forced  to  ride  over  to  the  council 
in  this  manner.     If  he  succeeded  in  reaching  his 
destination,  he  must  stop  the  horse  at  the  right 
place  so  as  to  jump  from  the  horse  over  a  hor 
izontal  bar  four  feet  high,  into  the  council-tent. 
If  his  feet  touched  the  bar,  he  was  killed  outright 
by  the  soldiers,  because  he  was  considered  con 
demned  by  the  Great  Spirit.    If  his  feet  did  not 
touch  the  bar,  he  entered  in  safety. 

"Then  he  was  made  to  undress  and  lie  down 
on  the  dead  man's  body  and  kiss  his  lips,  and  eat 
food,  and  drink  water  which  had  first  been  taken 
into  the  mouth  of  the  dead.  If  he  did  all  these 
things  without  flinching,  the  chiefs  solemnly  said 
'Ha  ye'  (so  be  it),  and  the  head  chief,  taking  the 
peace-pipe,  performed  the  ceremony  described  be 
fore,  of  presenting  it  to  heaven,  the  four  winds, 
and  the  earth,  saying : 

"  'Our  Father,  it  has  pleased  thee  to  forgive 
this  man.  Let  the  heaven,  the  four  winds,  and  the 
earth  now  witness  that  this  man  is  pardoned/ 

"The  pipe  was  then  smoked  by  the  chiefs,  the 
relatives  of  the  murdered  man,  and  lastly  the 
murderer,  after  which  a  crier  was  sent  out  to  pro 
claim  that  the  man  had  been  forgiven  by  the  Great 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  TIPI  SAPA  7 

Spirit  himself.  Then  only  was  he  taken  back  by 
the  people." 

The  boy's  father,  Saswe,  was  a  man  of  peculiar 
powers.  It  was  reported  that  he  could  swallow 
a  red-hot  poker,  and  the  people  around  were 
assured  that  it  could  be  heard  sizzling  in  his 
mouth  and  down  his  throat.  It  happened  once, 
according  to  popular  belief,  that  when  he  was  off 
in  the  mountains  he  found  himself  in  the  midst  of 
a  multitude  of  snakes.  The  writhing  creatures 
encircled  themselves  about  him,  and  completely 
covered  his  body.  They  tried  to  creep  into  his 
mouth,  but  he  closed  his  teeth ;  then  they  sought 
an  entrance  into  his  nostrils  and  his  ears.  Saswe's 
courage  in  resisting  them  was  supernatural.  All 
the  people  in  camp  said  that  he  must  have  been 
killed  by  the  snakes,  when,  to  their  amazement, 
he  appeared  among  them  unharmed. 

Saswe  possessed  an  extraordinary  gift  of  heal 
ing.  In  those  days  there  was  a  man  in  camp  who 
had  a  deep-seated  rheumatic  affection.  His  joints 
were  swollen,  and  he  was  constantly  in  pain  and 
doubled  up  with  the  disease.  The  medicine  man 
told  him  that  he  should  never  again  eat  the  en 
trails  of  an  animal  or  the  gizzard  of  a  bird ;  if  he 
did  he  would  surely  die.  The  man  obeyed  and 
was  completely  cured.  A  long  while  afterward, 
when  the  insides  of  an  animal  and  of  a  bird  were 
being  prepared,  this  man  thought  he  would  like 
some  to  eat.  His  wife  said  to  him  :  "Did  not  the 
medicine  man  tell  you  that  if  you  ever  again  ate 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 


any  of  this  you  would  die?"  "Oh,"  replied  her 
husband,  "that  was  many  years  ago."  Then  he 
himself  roasted  a  part  of  the  entrails  and  the 
gizzard ;  shortly  after  eating  them  he  died  in  great 
agony. 

Saswe  seemed  to  have  the  power  to  travel,  in 
spirit,  over  long  distances,  even  to  the  Big  Water* 
in  the  Sunrise,  perhaps  to  New  York;  and  he 
visited  many  other  places. 

One  day,  while  he  was  meditating  in  the  fields, 
he  saw  a  vision.  Some  figures  appeared  and 
motioned  to  him  to  go  with  them ;  but  he  could 
not  move,  as  he  had  become  quite  helpless  in  body. 
His  spirit  accompanied  them  to  a  black  house,  a 
dreary  place,  in  which  was  "all  manner  of  sickness 
and  all  manner  of  disease".  Of  the  many  people 
lying  about  in  such  distress,  some  were  dying; 
but  when  Saswe  touched  them  they  sat  up,  quite 
reanimated  and  revivified,  and  many  of  them  were 
permanently  recovered.  This  black  house  or 
lodge  appeared,  afterward,  to  be  a  dark  cloud 
filled  with  strange  figures. 

When  a  son  was  born  to  Saswe  and  Siha  Sape- 
win,  he  was  named  Tipi  Sapa  (Black  Lodge)  on 
account  of  the  power  given  to  his  father  in  the 
black  house.  Saswe  was  the  possessor  of  a 
famous  and  swift  black  horse,  also  a  war  bonnet 
and  a  handsome  skin  robe  worked  in  beads  and 
porcupine  quills.  He  tied  these  articles  in  front 
of  the  horse,  then  sent  for  an  old  man  to  come  and 

*  The  Atlantic  ocean. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  TIPI  SAPA          9 

get  them  because  the  boy  was  born.  When  the 
old  man  arrived  Saswe  said  to  him :  "Take  your 
knife  and  prick  the  child's  ears  on  both  sides,  and 
put  sharp  lead  against  his  ears  every  night  until 
they  are  pierced  through.  That  is  the  first  thing 
done  in  honoring  a  son.  He  is  to  wear  earrings. 
Tell  the  people  this  boy  is  to  have  the  name  of 
Tipi  Sapa— Black  Lodge."  The  old  man  took  the 
horse,  with  the  war  bonnet  and  robe  attached  to 
him,  and  rode  around  in  the  circle,  proclaiming 
the  boy's  name ;  then,  every  night  for  a  time,  he 
put  sharp  lead  in  the  lobes  of  his  ears.  (Tipi 
Sapa  says  he  is  ashamed  of  those  holes  when  he 
goes  among  white  people !) 

So  carefully  had  all  these  beliefs  and  customs 
been  taught  to  Tipi  Sapa,  that  they  were  fixed  in 
his  heart  firmly,  and  he  thought  no  power  on  earth 
could  move  them.  Then  he  tells  us  of  the  coming 
of  Christianity  to  him  and  his  people. 

"In  1870,  I  saw  the  Rev.  Joseph  W.  Cook  for 
the  first  time.  He  came,  a  pioneer  missionary,  and 
prayed  and  preached  in  a  log  cabin  near  the  camp. 
A  great  many  of  my  people  went  to  hear  him. 

"One  day,  at  the  request  of  one  of  my  com 
panions,  I,  with  my  face  painted,  my  hair  in  long 
braids,  clad  in  the  blanket  and  leggings  of  my 
rank,  entered  the  little  log  chapel  and  sat  me 
down.  The  hymn : 

'Guide  me,  O  Thou  Great  Jehovah', 
was  sung.     It  caught  and  held  me  like  a  rope 
around  a  bronco.     I  have  felt  wild  many  times 


10 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 


since,  but  never  could  get  away  from  those  words. 
"Presently  Mr.  Cook,  talking  through  an  in 
terpreter,  said:  'My  friends,  you  are  living  in 
great  darkness.  I  bring  you  true  light.  When 
you  shall  see  it  you  will  love  it  and  walk  in  it. 

"That  hurt  my  heart  as  if  an  arrow  had  shot 
and  pierced  it.     'You  white  man,  do  you  know 
what  you  say?    We  are  not  blind.     We  see  the 
same  light-producing  body  that  you  see.     It  is  the 
sun.  Where  is  your  true  light?    If  this  is  what  you 
talk  about,  I,  for  one,  will  never  come  near  you. 
"Weeks  passed  by.     One  day— it  must  have 
been  Sunday— I  was  following  a  path  which  led 
past  the  little  church.     Out  of  the  open  window 
I  heard  the  sound  of  voices.     The  tune  they  sang 
was  pleasant  to  hear.     I  wanted  to  hear  it  again 
to  learn  it  if  possible.     So  I  went  up  to  the  church 
on  three  successive  Sundays  but  that  tune  was 
not  sung.     On  the  fourth  Sunday,  however,  I  was 
happy  to  hear  the  hymn  I  had  longed  for.     I  stood 
next  to  a  man  who  sang  out  of  a  book.     From  him 
I  caught  the  words  of  the  first  verse  and  learned 
them  by  heart.     When  I  left  that  church,  able 
to  carry  the  tune  and  sing  the  first  verse  of  the 
Dakota  translation  of 

GUIDE   ME,    0    THOU   GREAT    JEHOVAH 
Yus  amayan  ye,  Jehovah, 

On£iya  waun  kin  ded, 
Qa  nape  umakiya  ye 
Heced  on  wani  kta  ce. 

Wodmayan  ye, 
O  Aguyapi  wakan. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  TIPI  SAPA         1 1 

Mni  wiconi  kin  etanhan 

U  kin  he  yuhdoka  ye ; 
Qa  matin  kte  cin  hehanyan 

Christ  iyoyanhmayan  ye; 

O  Itancan, 
Woekdaku  he  Niye. 

Ded  hewoskand  hcin  waun  kin, 

Manna  kin  yudmayan  ye ; 
Qa  wahacanka  mitawa 

He  Niye  kin  ee  kta: 

Ohinniyan, 
Christ,  icidowan  kta  ce. 

Jordan  ohuta  kin  he  ed, 

WikopeSnimayan  ye; 
Qa  wiconte  kin  ohiya 
Canaan  ed  wai  kta  ce: 

Hed  wiconi, 
Ed  ciyatan  kta,  O  Christ.  AMEN. 

I  felt  that  I  was  possessor  of  a  great  treasure. 
From  that  day  on  I  attended  the  services  with 
regularity,  hoping  to  learn  other  things  as  beauti 
ful  as  that  hymn. 

"One  day  after  a  service,  Mr.  Cook  asked  all 
the  young  men  in  the  congregation  to  remain. 
After  a  few  general  remarks,  he  dismissed  all  of 
them  but  asked  me  to  wait  behind. 

f  'You  are  to  cut  your  hair  short,  dress  like  a 
white  man  and  go  to  school.  What  is  your  feel 
ing  about  it?'  I  replied,  very  decidedly:  'No!' 
Again  and  again  he  asked  me,  and  as  often  I  gave 
him  the  one  answer. 

"In  their  teachings  my  father  and  mother  had 
said  so  often  :  'A  scalp-lock  of  beautiful  long  hair 


12  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

is  a  most  desirable  thing  for  a  warrior  to  possess. 
Take  care  of  your  hair.  Be  brave,  and  if  an 
enemy  gets  your  scalp-lock,  die  like  a  man.  He 
who  dies  uttering  a  cry  is  not  a  man,  and  is  a 
disgrace  to  his  people.' 

"I  wanted  to  keep  my  hair  long  and  beautiful 
as  became  a  warrior. 

"Meantime  Mr.  Cook  did  not  grow  weary  of 
talking  to  me,  and  finally  I  compared  the  two 
courses  which  lay  ahead,  the  heathen  life  and  the 
Christian  life,  and  after  much  deliberation,  I  made 
my  decision. 

"Going  to  Mr.  Cook  I  gave  myself  up,  had  my 
long  hair  cut  off,  and  assumed  the  dress  of  the 
white  man.  It  was  far  from  easy  to  go  back  and 
face  my  people,  many  of  whom  were  disappointed 
and  jeered  at  me.  'Coward!  He  fears  warfare/ 
'See,  he  chooses  an  easy  life/  and  many  similar 
taunts  were  flung  at  me." 

When  Tipi  Sapa  cut  off  his  braids  and  adopted 
the  white  man's  dress  and  customs,  he  was  fol 
lowed  by  his  father,  who  took  the  name  of 
Fransois  des  Lauriers.  The  latter  had  three 
wives,  one  of  them  a  young  girl  of  whom  he  was 
very  fond.  He  returned  her  to  her  own  people  at 
Fort  Bennett,  and  another  to  her  family  on  the 
Santee  Reservation.  He  was  then  married  in 
church  to  his  legal  wife,  Tipi  Sapa's  mother.  She 
also  was  baptized  and  confirmed,  and  remained  a 
faithful  and  true  Churchwoman  until  her  death. 
Bishop  Hare  officiated  at  her  funeral.  Tipi 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  TIPI  SAPA         13 

Sapa  himself  had  been  baptized  on  Christmas  Day, 
1870,  taking  the  name  of  Philip  Joseph  Deloria 
(des  Lauriers  had  been  changed  to  Deloria)  ;  and 
he  goes  on  to  tell  of  his  work  as  a  Christian 
soldier  and  servant. 

"In  the  spring  of  1871,  Bishop  Clarkson  con 
firmed  me.  Afterward  I  went  to  Nebraska  Col 
lege  for  two  years  and  the  Shattuck  School  at 
Faribault,  Minnesota,  for  one  year.  In  spite  of 
my  ambition  to  get  ahead,  I  was  held  back  by 
pneumonia  two  successive  years,  so  that  I  did  not 
have  three  full  years  of  school. 

"In  1874  I  returned  to  my  people,  equipped 
with  the  knowledge  of  reading,  writing,  and  figur 
ing,  which  I  had  been  able  to  acquire.  Almost 
immediately  I  became  a  lay-reader  in  the  Church, 
and  at  the  same  time  assumed  my  duties  as  chief 
in  the  place  of  my  father,  having  been  given  by 
the  Indian  Department  a  medal  signifying  my 
authority. 

"During  the  next  few  years  a  great  many 
temptations  of  various  kinds  came  to  me,  which 
I  tried  to  overcome  by  my  own  power  and  cour 
age.  I  generally  failed.  At  length  I  put  to  my 
self  the  question:  'Why?  Why  can't  I  over 
come  my  tempter?'  Gradually  I  came  to  realize 
that  all  this  time  I  had  been  feeling  that  my  own 
strength  was  sufficient  for  me. 

"After  that,  I  trusted  to  a  higher  power  and 
found  help.  When  I  saw  my  way  a  little  clearer, 
I  decided  to  lay  aside  my  chieftainship  and  work 


14  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

for  the  spiritual  uplift  of  my  people.  Accord 
ingly,  Bishop  Hare  admitted  me  deacon  on  June 
24,  1883. 

"While  I  was  in  deacon's  orders  Bishop  Hare 
would  say :  Tack  up  and  go  to  such  and  such  a 
place/  I  would  go  each  time,  and  do  the  work  I 
found  there  to  be  done.  When  in  two  or  three 
years  the  work  progressed,  quite  unexpectedly, 
he  would  ask  me  to  go  elsewhere. 

"One  day  the  Bishop  said:  Tack  up  your 
things  and  go  to  Standing  Rock/  I  came,  and  I 
have  been  here  ever  since,  through  a  period  of 
twenty-six  years.  At  that  time  the  few  Indians 
who  were  at  all  friendly  towards  the  whites  were 
either  Roman  Catholic  converts,  or  members  of 
the  Congregational  body.  Here  and  there  an  in 
dividual  or  a  family  showed  an  interest  in  my  ef 
forts.  But  Sitting  Bull  and  his  people  had  very 
recently  been  brought  in  from  wild  life  and  their 
hostility  and  influence  were  strong.  My  work 
was  therefore  a  very  difficult  one. 

"Feeling  that  I  needed  wisdom  and  guidance, 
I  wrote  to  Bishop  Hare  for  advice:  Tlease  ad 
vise  me  what  to  do  here/ 

"He  wrote  back :  'I  cannot  advise  you.  I  am 
a  poor  mortal  like  you,  and  can  see  no  better.  The 
One  who  can  best  counsel  you  is  right  beside  you. 
Go  to  the  Holy  Spirit/ 

"I  have  followed  that  suggestion  from  that  day 

to  this. 

"On  September  4,  1892,  I  was  ordained  priest. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  TIPI  SAPA         15 

"The  work  here  on  the  Standing  Rock  has 
grown  steadily,  so  that  now  we  have  five  chapels, 
whereas,  at  the  first  we  had  only  one.  In  these 
chapels  lay-readers  conduct  the  services  every 
Sunday.  The  priest  visits  each  chapel  once  a 
month,  and  the  Bishop  once  a  year." 

Mr.  Deloria  can  testify  as  to  the  character  of 
our  first  missionaries  —  the  spiritual  power  and 
fervent  zeal,  the  earnestness,  steadfastness,  de 
voted  self-sacrifice,  and  saintliness  of  such  a 
man  as  Bishop  Hare ;  and  the  noble  examples  and 
elevating  influence  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Cook,  Mr. 
Cleveland,  and  the  many  others  both  men  and 
women,  who  have  given  and  are  giving  their  lives 
to  the  cause.  The  affection  which  Bishop  Hare 
felt  for  the  Indians,  and  his  solicitude  for  their 
spiritual  welfare,  are  widely  known.  He  never 
ceased  to  pray  for  his  dear  Indian  people,  or  "to 
desire  that  they  might  be  filled  with  the  knowl 
edge  of  His  will,  and  delivered  from  the  power  of 
darkness". 

He  and  others  were  deeply  appreciative  of  the 
justice,  mercy,  and  truth,  contained  in  the  final 
moral  code  of  the  Indians  of  the  old  days.  They 
did  not,  and  could  not,  believe  that  the  simple, 
honest,  brave,  noblehearted  Red  men  "would  be 
eternally  lost  unless  they  professed  a  particular 
form  of  their  hydra-headed  faith,  or  force  them  to 
adopt  this  faith."  (Vide  Foreword:  "The  Soul 
of  the  Indian",  Eastman).  "They  were  gentle 
among  them,  and  affectionately  desirous  to  im- 


16  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

part,  not  the  Gospel  only,  but  also  their  own 
souls,  because  they,  the  Indians,  were  dear  unto 
them."  They  were  merely  in  deep  earnest  in 
their  desire  to  guide  these  their  brothers,  who 
were  dwelling  in  a  cloudy  spiritual  atmosphere, 
into  the  true  Light  which  lighteth  every  man 
that  cometh  into  the  world." 

Mr.  Deloria  is  an  admirable  exponent  of  their 
guidance.  He  knows  the  Bible  by  heart  and  is 
deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  its  message.  He 
is  a  prophet  as  well  as  a  priest.  In  speaking  of 
his  father's  marvelous  power,  he  said :  "I  wonder 
why  I  have  none  of  that  power?"  One  of  his 
friends  replied :  "You  have  it,  Mr.  Deloria,  only 
in  a  different  way.  Your  father  was  a  healer  of 
bodies ;  you  are  a  healer  of  souls." 

Mr.  Deloria  is  a  born  leader,  and  a  tower  of 
strength  in  the  Church.  He  said  to  Bishop  Hare 
and  also  to  Bishop  Biller  at  his  consecration :  "I 
will  give  you  my  invisible  shoulder";  a  promise 
that  he  kept  most  faithfully,  and  in  the  perform 
ance  of  it,  rendered  invaluable  assistance  to  these 
men  through  their  pastorates  in  South  Dakota. 
When  these  noble  bishops  entered  into  their 
rest,  Mr.  Deloria  on  each  occasion  was  among 
those  summoned  to  carry  the  casket  upon  their 
shoulders  to  the  final  burying  place.  He  is  a  man 
of  wide  influence  and  is  called  upon  to  aid  in 
carrying  on  the  work,  not  only  on  other  reserva 
tions  in  his  own  district,  but  in  other  districts  as 
well.  Recently  he  has  been  of  great  assistance  to 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  TIPI  SAPA         17 

the  Bishop  of  North  Dakota.  He  preaches  and 
makes  addresses  at  various  convocations  and 
synods.  He  has  been  a  delegate,  more  than 
once,  to  the  General  Convention  of  the  Church; 
and  in  such  capacity  attended  that  gathering 
in  New  York  City  in  the  fall  of  1913.  At 
that  time  he  was  called  upon  to  address  large 
audiences  in  Philadelphia,  Boston,  and  other 
cities.  He  has  also  been  called  to  Washington  to 
give  counsel  and  advice  in  regard  to  settling  diffi 
culties  that  have  arisen  between  his  people  and 
the  government. 

He  has  a  talent  for  friendship,  having  a  regard 
for  honor  and  a  respect  for  a  promise  far  exceed 
ing  that  of  most  white  mem. 

In  the  summer  of  1916,  after  a  long  and  pain 
ful  illness,  his  beloved  wife  died.  She  was  a 
beautiful  woman,  possessing  much  sweetness  and 
gentleness  of  character,  and  was  a  most  efficient 
helper  in  the  work  of  the  Church,  through  the 
many  happy  years  of  their  wedded  life.  On  the 
lectern  of  St.  Elizabeth's  Church— a  memorial  to 
Mrs.  Deloria— the  inscription  reads:  "Blessed 
are  the  peace  makers;  for  they  shall  be  called 
the  children  of  God".  Mr.  Deloria's  married 
daughter,  Mrs.  Lane,  lives  a  few  miles  distant 
from  St.  Elizabeth's  Mission.  Another  daughter, 
Ella,  is  a  graduate  of  All  Saints'  School,  Sioux 
Falls,  South  Dakota,  and  of  Columbia  University, 
New  York  City.  She  received  from  Columbia 
the  degree  of  B.S.  While  studying  there  she  was 


18  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIP1  SAP  A 

held  in  high  esteem  by  her  associates,  both  pro 
fessors  and  classmates,  as  one  who,  though  pos 
sessing  unusual  intellectuality,  was,  with  it  all, 
most  pleasing  and  unassuming.    For  the  last  two 
years  Ella  Deloria  has  been  one  of  the  staff  of 
teachers  at  All  Saints'  School,  Sioux  Falls.    This 
is  an  institution  of  "godly  and  sound  learning", 
founded  some  thirty  years  ago  by  Bishop  Hare. 
During  all  that  time  it  has  had  but  one  principal, 
Dr.  Helen  S.  Peabody — a  woman  of  remarkable 
culture,  refinement,  and  spirituality.     Dr.   Pea- 
body,  with  the  marvelously  efficient  assistance  of 
her  sister,  Miss  Mary  Peabody,  has  been  a  great 
power  in  directing  for  good  the  lives  of  hundreds 
of  girls,  Indian  and  white,  throughout  the  West. 
Susie   Deloria,   the   youngest   daughter,   was 
graduated  from  All  Saints'  School  in  1916,  and 
ever  since  then  has  kept  house  for  her  father. 
Last,  but  not  least,  is  Vine,  a  bright  and  attractive 
boy  of  sixteen,  who  is  receiving  his  education  at 
the  Military  Academy,  Kearney,  Nebraska. 

Mr.  Deloria  considers  that  if  a  thing  is  worth 
doing  at  all  it  is  worth  doing  well.  He  uses  all  his 
force,  energy,  and  ability,  in  whatever  he  under 
takes,  from  chopping  wood  or  driving  a  team,  to 
catechizing  and  addressing  little  children,  who  are 
devoted  to  him,  or  preparing  or  preaching  a  ser 
mon.*  He  visits  the  sick  or  anyone  who  needs 


*  When  Mr.  Deloria  is  thinking  out  his  sermons  he  lies  flat 
on  his  back  on  the  ground  and  gazes  up  at  the  sky;  this,  of 
course,  in  favorable  weather. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  TIPI  SAPA        19 

him,  in  sunshine  or  blizzard,  drenching  rain  or 
searching  blast.  He  drives  for  miles  over  the 
prairies  to  his  various  missions  in  whatever 
temperature  the  thermometer  may  be  registering 
in  that  great  western  land — from  56  below,  to 
no  above,  zero.  He  is  constantly  called  upon 
to  settle  difficulties  and  to  give  advice.  What 
impressed  me  beyond  all  else,  is  his  marvelous 
patience  in  the  midst  of  numerous  trying  and 
perplexing  occasions  and  circumstances.  In  spite 
of  many  and  great  provocations  and  discourage 
ments,  he  always  maintains  his  spirit,  poise, 
and  tenacity  of  purpose.  It  is  more  than  mere 
patience ;  it  is  grit,  the  true  definition  of  patience, 
as  St.  Paul  uses  the  word  when  he  tells  us  how 
to  run  the  race  that  is  set  before  us.  Such  pluck 
and  resolution,  such  repose  and  confidence  are  to 
be  found  only  in  a  man  whose  soul  is  anchored  in 
truth  and  principle.  He  is  full  of  solicitude  for 
the  welfare  of  his  flock  and  deeply  troubled  in 
spirit  over  any  of  their  shortcomings. 

As  a  preacher  Mr.  Deloria  is  most  dramatic  in 
gesture,  remarkable  in  vigor  and  fluency  of  lan 
guage,  and  full  of  inspiration.  Those  who  hear 
him  are  impressed  at  once  with  his  deep  spirit 
uality.  His  sermons  abound  in  striking  story, 
allegory,  and  vivid  illustration.  On  account  of 
being  so  gifted  in  the  art  of  preaching,  he  has  been 
styled  the  "Phillips  Brooks"  of  the  Indian  people. 
He  is  a  great  reader.  Among  some  of  his  favorite 
works  after  the  Bible,  including  the  Apocrypha, 


20  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

are  the  lives  of  the  Fathers,  Shakespeare,  "The 
Vision  of  Hernias",  "Hiawatha",  "The  Toiling  of 
Felix",  and  some  of  John  Oxenham's  poems.  In 
conversation  he  is  exceptionally  interesting  and 
original,  and  can  entertain  people  for  hours  at  a 
time  with  legends  and  true  tales  of  his  own  people 
and  with  many  thrilling  personal  experiences. 
On  account  of  his  winning  personality,  consisting 
in  a  certain  sweetness  of  nature  combined  with  a 
strong  masculinity  and  force  of  character,  a  wide 
sympathy  and  knowledge  of  human  nature,  lofty 
principle  and  purity  and  simplicity  of  heart  and 
conduct,  he  is  "a  man  greatly  beloved"  and  held  in 
high  esteem  by  all  who  know  him.  He  is  always 
endeavoring  to  put  himself  in  accord  with 
God's  will,  and  is  ever  listening  for  the  Voice  that 
will  tell  him  what  to  do.  He  believes  firmly  in  the 
deep  personal  interest  of  the  Almighty  concern 
ing  all  who  trust  in  Him,  and  is  convinced  that 
everything  is  right,  in  small  or  great  matters,  if 
ordered  by  Him,  even  though  seemingly  unjust 
and  wrong,  to  an  extent  quite  beyond  our  finite 
understanding.  As  is  characteristic  of  all  mag 
nanimous  men,  he  is  "clothed  with  humility",  and, 
like  St.  Paul,  implies,  when  praised  for  well-doing, 
that  "we  are  not  sufficient  of  ourselves  to  think 
anything  as  of  ourselves,  but  our  sufficiency  is 
of  God." 

In  the  narrative  that  follows,  concerning  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  Sioux  nation,  I  have 
not  endeavored  to  treat  of  the  subject  scientifi- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  TIPI  SAP  A         21 

cally,  neither  have  I  made  the  slightest  attempt 
at  literary  style.  It  is  the  story  told  to  me  in, 
as  nearly  as  possible,  the  exact  words  of  Tipi 
Sapa,  Mr.  Deloria,  and  I  have  studied  to  adhere 
to  the  childlike  simplicity  in  his  manner  of  re 
lating  the  incidents  to  me.  I  have  also  used  many 
terms  peculiarly  his  own.  It  is  well,  for  another 
reason,  to  adhere  to  this  plain,  unadorned  ex 
pression  of  Mr.  Deloria's  thoughts,  for  he  is 
hoping,  when  his  little  book  appears  in  print  that 
it  will  have  a  wide  circulation  among  all  those 
of  his  own  people  who  can  read  the  English 
language.  The  English  vocabulary  of  the  ma 
jority  of  Indians  is  naturally  limited,  and  they 
would  not  readily  understand  a  book  written  in 
elaborate  diction ;  any  more  than  those  of  us,  ex 
cepting  scholars,  could  read  off-hand  Russian  or 
Scandinavian  literature  in  highly  wrought  style. 
It  is  only  within  the  last  few  years  that  the 
Indians  have  known  at  all  of  any  written  lan 
guage,  even  their  own;  so  they  prefer  to  read 
books  that  are  simple,  clear,  and  intelligible  to 
them. 

Mr.  Deloria  is  extremely  accurate,  and  has 
taken  any  amount  of  trouble  in  verifying  the 
facts  about  his  people  that  are  stated  in  this  little 
book.  As  we  have  already  seen  in  the  bio 
graphical  sketch,  he  has  been  a  participant  in 
many  of  their  practices  and  usages  himself. 
Others  he  has  learned  about  from  his  father  and 
from  various  "sacred"  and  wise  men  in  the  tribe. 


22  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

Mr.  Deloria  has  seen  the  birthright  of  his 
people  taken  from  them;  he  knows  them  to  be 
grossly  corrupted  by  the  intoxicating  liquors 
handed  over  to  them  by  the  white  men,  and  that 
they  are  decreasing  in  numbers  from  the  diseases 
contracted  from  our  civilization.  He  himself, 
with  them,  has  had  to  give  up  the  delight  and  the 
support  derived  from  the  chase  and  to  see  his 
people  frequenting  saloons  and  pool  halls  and 
barely  subsisting  on  the  wretched  rations  fur 
nished  them  by  the  government.  He  knows  they 
are  in  a  transition  state,  and  as  yet  quite  unable 
to  carry  on  farming  and  other  industrial  pursuits, 
with  any  degree  of  success;  not  only  on  account 
of  their  nomadic  habits,  to  which  they  have  been 
accustomed  for  centuries,  but  on  account  of  their 
having  been  brought  up  to  regard  work  with  the 
greatest  contempt.  He  sees  the  women  idle  a 
good  part  of  the  time,  and  deteriorating  in  their 
morals  on  account  of  their  indulgence  in  gossip 
and  scandal  of  the  grossest  kind.  He  thinks  the 
crying  need  is  more  schools — Church  industrial 
schools,  farm  schools,  schools  with  courses  of 
training  for  boys  who  want  to  enter  the  ministry ; 
for  nothing  is  more  important  than  a  staff  of 
strong  native  clergy. 

In  spite  of  all  discouragements,  Mr.  Deloria 
goes  on  his  way  rejoicing,  full  of  hope  for  his 
people;  and,  "forgetting  those  things  which  are 
behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto  those  things 
which  are  before,  he  presses  towards  the  mark 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  TIPI  SAPA        23 

for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus." 


KEY  TO  PRONUNCIATION 

a a  as  in  car 

e e  as  in  they 

i i  as  in  machine 

o o  as  in  boat 

u u  as  in  boot 

?, s 

c ch 

d 1 

q n 

S  .        .  sh 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Advent  of  the  Indians— Wanderings- 
Customs— Reckoning  Time— Religion— 
Peace-Pipe 

ACCORDING  to  Indian  tradition,  in  the  old 
days  all  the  Indian  peoples  crossed  some 
great  river;  but  whence  they  came  originally, 
they  cannot  say.  It  was  their  custom  to  travel  in 
the  night  time,  and  they  wandered  at  random  over 
wild,  unknown  lands.  In  the  early  dawn  they  were 
able  "to  see  the  nakedness  of  the  land,"  the  count 
less  hills  and  valleys,  fertile  plains,  the  lakes, 
creeks,  and  winding  rivers,  and  beautiful  bits  of 
timber.  They  then  spied  out  ways  over  which 
they  could  have  travelled  far  better  if  they  had 
only  known  of  them  at  the  time,  but  they  had  been 
able  to  perceive  nothing  under  cover  of  night. 

They  wandered  from  the  West— the  Darken 
ing  Land— towards  the  Sunrise.  Some  were  able 
to  reach  the  Big  Water  in  the  Sunrise  (the 
Atlantic  Ocean).  One  tribe,  the  Cheyennes, 
strayed  into  the  country  now  named  Minnesota. 
The  Cheyennes  are  now  found  only  in  Montana.* 

*  in  their  cemeteries  the  Cheyennes  used  for  marking  their 
graves,  figures  nailed  on  boards  with  arms  outstretched,  re 
sembling  crucifixes. 


THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  INDIANS  25 

The  Indians  are  a  very  old  people.  They 
lived  in  tents,  journeyed  from  place  to  place  as 
did  the  nomadic  tribes  of  the  Orient,  and  camped 
wherever  they  found  water  and  good  pasture  for 
their  horses.  In  war,  they  thought  it  most  im 
portant  to  take  from  the  enemy  as  many  horses 
as  possible.  They  traded,  bought  and  sold,  with 
horses,  as  we  do  with  money.  Even  now,  they 
often  pay  their  debts,  among  themselves  and  to 
the  white  man,  with  horses. 

In  reckoning  time,  the  Indians  counted  from 
sunrise  to  sunrise  as  a  day  ("the  evening  and  the 
morning  were  the  first  day")  and  three  hundred 
and  sixty-five  days  as  a  year.  Some  of  them 
noted  the  occurrence  of  an  extra  day  occasionally. 
They  talked  about  it  a  great  deal,  but  were  never 
of  one  mind  on  the  subject.  Nevertheless, 
several  of  them  maintained  that  every  few  years 
the  extra  day  occurred.  The  record  of  the  days 
in  a  year  was  kept  by  carving  notches  on  thick 
sticks  of  wood. 

From  the  earliest  times,  the  Indians  believed 
in  a  Supreme  Being  who  ruled  the  Universe. 
They  prayed  to  visible  objects,  especially  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars;  and  reverenced  even  the  trees 
and  the  rocks.  They  did  not  actually  worship 
the  objects  themselves,  but  looked  upon  them 
as  instruments  of  power  through  which  their 
prayers  reached  the  Great  Spirit. 

The  religious  code  of  the  Sioux  Indians,  the 
special  tribe  treated  of  in  this  book,  was  similar, 


26  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

in  many  respects,  to  the  Ten  Commandments. 
The  Above,  the  Supreme  Being,  the  Mysterious 
One,  "Wakantanka,"  was  held  in  awe  and  venera 
tion.  He  was  all-powerful.  He  could  give  them 
whatever  they  wanted  if  they  were  good;  and 
could  keep  them  from  getting  anything  they  de 
sired  if  they  were  bad.  Children  must  honor  and 
obey  their  parents  and  help  them  in  every  way 
possible.  All  the  young  people  had  to  observe  the 
precepts  and  teachings  of  the  old  men,  the  chiefs 
and  leaders.  In  them  was  vested  the  civil  author 
ity.  The  people  were  to  use  no  deceit  in  their 
tongues;  they  were  to  hurt  nobody  by  word  or 
deed.  Lying  and  slandering  were  disreputable. 
We  shall  see,  further  on,  the  evil  effects  of  gossip 
upon  girls  and  women,  even  forcing  them  some 
times  to  commit  suicide.  The  untruthful  and  the 
backbiters  were  held  in  no  respect  whatever. 

They  were  urged  on  almost  every  occasion 
to  care  for  the  poor,  the  weak,  and  the  little  ones ; 
and  generosity  and  kindness  were  always  highly 
commended. 

Murder  in  one's  own  circle  was  considered  a 
terrible  crime  and  deserving  of  death.  Stealing, 
except  in  war,  or  in  certain  kinds  of  ceremony 
and  play,  was  disgraceful.  To  covet  and  go  off 
with  another  man's  wife  was  a  great  evil  and, 
as  will  be  shown  later,  one  worthy  of  severe 
punishment  for  both  offenders.  The  men  and  the 
women  acted  the  parts  in  life  which  they  con 
sidered  were  severally  allotted  to  them.  The 


THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  INDIANS  27 

bearing  of  the  burden  seemed  to  be  shared  by 
both  sexes  to  an  almost  equal  degree. 

The  Dakota  Nation  was  divided  into  twelve 
bands,  namely:  the  Cheyenne,  Crow  Creek, 
Devil's  Lake,  Flandreau,  Lower  Brule,  Pine 
Ridge,  Poplar,  Rosebud,  Santee,  Sisseton,  Stand 
ing  Rock,  and  Yankton  bands.  In  the  days  of 
long  ago,  there  was  another  division  of  the  Sioux 
called  the  Sans  Arcs,  which  has  preserved  the 
beautiful  legend  of  the  Pipe  of  Peace.  This 
Calumet,  or  Peace-Pipe,  in  use  from  the  earliest 
times,  occupied  a  position  of  peculiar  importance 
and  was  held  in  the  deepest  reverence.  It  was 
entrusted  to  the  care  of  a  highly  honored  man, 
and  brought  out  and  smoked  with  much  ceremony 
on  great  and  solemn  occasions. 

In  the  smoke  that  rolled  around  him, 
The  Great  Spirit,  the  Creator, 
Smiled  upon  his  helpless  children! 

—  (Hiawatha,  Pipe  of  Peace.) 

THE  PIPE  OF  PEACE  STORY 

Years  ago,  within  the  Dakota  Nation,  there 
was  a  band  known  as  the  (Itazipco)  Sans  Arcs. 
Out  of  this  band  of  Indians,  two  especially 
favored  and  handsome  young  men  were,  on  one 
occasion,  selected  and  commissioned  to  ride  out 
and  find  where  the  buffalo  were. 

While  these  young  men  were  riding  in  the 
wild  country,  bent  on  their  mission  of  finding 
the  buffalo,  they  saw,  in  the  distance  and  drawing 
near  to  them,  someone  who  walked. 


28  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

As  always,  they  were  on  the  alert  lest  some 
enemy  should  surprise  them  and  take  their  scalps. 
The  most  natural  thing  for  them  to  do  was  to 
hide  in  the  wayside  bushes.  There  they  sat  and 
waited  for  the  figure  to  come  in  sight.  Finally, 
up  the  slope  it  came.  It  proved  to  be  a  Beautiful 
Woman.  At  a  distance  she  halted  and  looked 
towards  them  in  their  hiding  place,  and  they 
knew  that  she  could  see  them.  On  her  left 
arm  she  carried  what  looked  like  a  stick,  bundled 
up  in  bunches  of  sage  brush.  She  was  fair  to  look 
upon. 

One  of  the  men  said  to  his  companion:  "I 
covet  her;  she  is  lovely  beyond  anyone  I  ever 
saw.  She  shall  be  mine."  "But  hold,"  said  the 
other,  "how  can  you  dare  to  entertain  such 
thoughts  when  she  is  so  wondrously  beautiful  and 
holy,  so  far  above  our  race  ?" 

The  woman,  standing  over  in  the  distance, 
heard  them,  and  laid  down  her  bundle.  "Come," 
she  said.  "What  is  it  you  wish?"  And  he  went 
to  her  and  laid  hands  on  her,  as  though  to  claim 
her,  when,  Lo!  from  somewhere  in  the  above, 
came  a  whirlwind,  and  after  it,  a  mist.  The  mist 
enveloped  the  man  and  the  Beautiful  Woman, 
then  cleared  away,  leaving  the  Woman  standing 
there  with  the  bundle  on  her  left  arm,  and  the 
man,  now  a  heap  of  bones,  at  her  feet. 

The  companion,  who  stood  wrapped  in  wonder 
and  awe,  was  now  addressed  by  the  Beautiful 
Woman.  She  said :  "I  am  making  this  journey 


THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  INDIANS  29 

to  your  tribe,  the  Sans  Arts.  Among  your  people 
there  lives  a  good  man.  His  name  is  Tatanka- 
Woslal-Mani  (Bull-Walking-upright).  To  him 
especially  I  am  come.  Go  home  and  tell  your 
tribe  I  am  on  my  way.  Have  them  move  camp 
and  pitch  their  tents  in  a  circle,  leaving  an  opening 
towards  the  north.  In  the  centre  of  the  circle, 
opposite  the  opening,  they  are  to  erect  a  large  tipi, 
also  facing  the  north.  There  I  will  meet  Tatanka- 
Woslal-Mani  and  his  people." 

(There  is  no  further  record  of  her  approach. 
The  narrative  goes  on  with  her  teaching.) 

To  Tatanka-Woslal-Mani  she  gave  the  gift 
she  carried.  On  taking  away  the  sage-branches 
which  surrounded  it,  she  revealed  a  small  pipe 
made  of  red  pipe-stone.  (This,  later,  became 
universally  the  material  for  Indian  pipes.)  On 
the  pipe  was  carved,  most  ingeniously,  a  tiny  little 
outline  of  a  calf ;  hence  the  name  Calf-pipe,  which 
is  sometimes  applied  to  the  original  Peace-pipe. 

With  this  pipe,  the  Beautiful  Woman  gave 
them  a  code  of  morals  by  which  they  must  live 
with  one  another  in  the  tribe.  Moreover,  she  gave 
them  forms  of  prayers  to  be  said  when  invoking 
the  "One  Above".  When  they  prayed  to  Him 
they  must  use  their  pipe  in  the  ceremony.  When 
they  were  hungry  they  must  undo  the  pipe  and 
lay  it  bare  to  the  air.  Then  the  buffalo  would 
come  near,  to  a  place  where  the  men  could  easily 
hunt  and  kill  them ;  and  the  children,  women,  and 
men,  could  have  food  and  be  happy. 


30  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

In  the  lesson  that  the  tribe  received  on  that 
day,  everything  was  good  and  true.  In  observing 
the  moral  code  just  received,  they  knew  they 
would  be  happy.  By  invoking  the  aid  of  the 
Strong  One  above,  and  using  the  Peace-pipe  in 
the  ceremony,  they  would  be  certain  of  blessings 
asked. 

The  Woman  completed  her  message,  turned, 
and  departed.  Slowly  she  walked  away  while  all 
the  tribe  watched  in  awe.  Outside  the  doorway 
of  the  circle  she  stopped  for  an  instant,  lay  down 
on  the  ground,  and  rose  again  in  the  form  of  a 
beautiful  black  buffalo-cow.  Again  she  lay  down, 
this  time  to  arise  in  the  form  of  a  red  buffalo-cow ! 
A  third  time  she  lay  down,  and  arose  a  brown 
buffalo-cow!  The  fourth  and  last  time,  she  ap 
peared  as  a  spotlessly  white  buffalo-cow.  In  this 
form  she  then  turned  to  the  north  and  walked  into 
the  distance,  finally  vanishing  over  the  far-off  hill. 

During  her  strange  visit,  the  Beautiful  Woman 
instructed  the  people  how  to  decorate  their  bodies 
when  they  were  happy.  The  earth,  she  said,  was 
their  mother,  for  the  earth  nursed  them  and  cared 
for  them.  Hence,  when  they  wanted  to  dress, 
they  must  decorate  themselves  as  their  mother 
did,  in  black  and  red  and  brown  and  white,*  the 
same  colors  which  the  buffalo-cow  assumed  in 
her  different  appearances.  The  earth  dressed 
herself  in  white,  for  did  not  the  people  find  white 


*  These  four  primitive  colors  are  represented  in  the  cover 
of  this  book. 


THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  INDIANS  31 

earth  in  certain  places?  (Gray  clay.)  Was  she 
not  somewhere  clad  in  red  (Vermilion,  South 
Dakota),  and  in  brown,  as  the  brown  earth  on  the 
hillsides?  The  black  earth,  found  in  the  bad 
lands  of  South  Dakota,  was  well  known  to  the 
Indians  who  used  it  as  paint  and  dye.  They  were 
authorized  to  use  these  colors  when  they  "made 
up"  for  festal  occasions.  But  when  any  of  the 
people  had  done  wrong  or  had  taken  human  life 
in  the  tribe,  then  they  were  wrong  in  the  sight  of 
the  Great  Spirit  and  must  cover  themselves  with 
common  mud.  Hence  arose  the  custom  for  a 
murderer  to  cover  his  body  with  ordinary  dirt  and 
clay.  For  many  years  these  four  colors — white, 
black,  red,  and  brown — were  the  only  ones  in  use 
among  the  Indians. 

Tatanka-Woslal-Mani  taught,  in  turn,  to  his 
people,  the  many  good  things  the  Beautiful 
Woman  taught  to  him.  Always  carefully 
wrapped  and  laid  away  was  the  sacred  pipe  she 
brought  them,  the  White  Calf-pipe.  Fashioned 
after  it  were  other  pipes  which  were  used  in  dif 
ferent  sorts  of  Indian  ceremonies,  and  these 
ceremonial  pipes  gradually  became  known  as 
pipes  of  peace. 

The  legend  runs  that  Tatanka-Woslal-Mani 
had  the  pipe  until  he  was  over  one  hundred  years 
old.  Every  little  while  he  called  the  people  to 
gether,  untied  the  bundle,  and  communicated  the 
lessons  which  had  been  taught  to  him.  When  he 
grew  feeble  he  made  a  great  feast  and  handed 


32  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

over  the  pipe  and  the  lessons  to  Wi-hi-na-pa 
(Sunrise)  a  worthy  man,  who  used  the  pipe  in  the 
same  way,  and  finally  passed  it  on,  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  to  one  Pehin  Sapa  (Black  Hair)  with 
instructions  to  use  it  in  the  same  manner.  He 
gave  it  to  Heraka-pa  (Elk's  Head)  who,  at 
his  death,  left  it  to  Mato-nakpa  (Bear's  Ear). 
Tatanka  Pteson  (White  Buffalo-Bull)  was  the 
next  to  receive  it.  After  him,  Herlogeca  (Hollow 
Horn)  was  the  custodian;  and  in  recent  times 
Hollow  Horn  gave  the  Pipe  to  Heraka-pa  (Elk's 
Head)  the  Second,  who  died  a  few  years  ago, 
leaving  the  Pipe  and  its  teachings  to  his  daughter, 
whose  husband  is  Zuya  Sica.  Heraka-pa  had  a 
son,  but  preferred  to  give  the  pipe  to  his  daughter, 
because  his  son  had  married  a  Standing  Rock 
woman  and  had  left  the  Sans  Arcs  band.  It  was 
this  son,  who  came  from  the  western  part  of  the 
Cheyenne  Reservation  where  the  Sans  Arcs  are 
located,  who  told  this  story  to  Tipi  Sapa.  He 
remained  to  dine  with  Tipi  Sapa  and  his  family. 


c/) 

< 
5 

I 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Circle— The  Wearing  of  Feathers— Leaders 

—Scalps— Victory— Defeat— A  Chief 
f5f  HE  Circle  was  the  emblem  of  eternity.     The 
W  middle  tent,  or  large  tipi  in  the  middle  of  the 
circle,    was    a    sacred    place.     The    ground    was 
levelled,  and  braided  sweet  grass  laid  upon  it. 
The  end  opposite  the  door  was  held  in  as  much 
regard  as  the  chancel  of  a  church.     On  solemn 
occasions,  one  of  the  chosen  men  in  the  circle 
occupied  this  place  of  honor,  and  conducted  cer 
emonies  with  the  pipe  of  peace.     Taking  it  in  his 
hands,  he  pointed  it  to  heaven,  to  the  four  corners 
of  the  winds,  and  to  the  earth,  and  prayed,  saying : 
"Great  Spirit  or  Great  Father,  send  me  the  Spirit 
of  the  buffalo"  (or  any  other  spirit  he  desired). 
After  smoking  it,  he  said  to  those  present :  "These 
prayers  of  mine  will  be  carried  in  this  smoke  to 
the  Supreme  Being  or  Creator."     If  any  bad  men, 
such  as  liars  and  murderers  or  dishonorable  or 
unclean  persons  (i.e.,  those  who  had  gone  off  with 
the  wives  of  other  men)   came  near  the  middle 
tent,  they  were  driven  away  at  once.     It  was  too 
sacred  a  place  for  that  kind  of  people.     If  they 
should  enter,  they  might  drive  away  the  spirit  of 


34  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

the  buffalo,  as  they  themselves  were  possessed 
of  evil  spirits.  Such  characters  had  to  wear 
mourning,  and  wander  about  outside  of  the  circle. 

In  a  Circle  of  Indians  camping,  things,  tradi 
tions,  were  always  kept  in  memory.  These  were 
called  "old  men's  instructions",  and  were  intended 
for  girls  as  well  as  boys.  The  old  men  were 
obliged  to  prove  themselves  worthy  of  handing 
on  traditions,  according  to  the  ones  that  had  been 
before  them. 

A  young  man  was  taught  to  be  loyal  to  the 
Supreme  Being  and  to  his  circle.  He  was  never 
to  tell  any  secrets  or  to  disclose  any  weaknesses 
about  his  Circle.  He  was  obliged  to  be  always 
preparing  himself  for  two  forms  of  action — hunt 
ing  and  righting.  Above  all  else,  he  was  to  be 
brave — go  out  of  the  Circle  and  kill,  if  possible, 
four  men  belonging  to  the  enemy.  He  was  then 
to  have  four  feathers  given  him  as  marks  of 
distinction.  These  feathers  were  to  be  worn  in 
different  ways  or  directions  in  the  hair  at  the  top 
of  his  braid. 

The  man  who  first  took  aim  and  killed  one  of 
the  approaching  enemy  did  not  receive  a  feather. 
It  was  given  to  the  one  who  went  forward  and  hit 
him  after  he  was  down.  This  required  greater 
bravery,  as  it  was  done  in  the  face  of  the  enemy ; 
and  if  not  managed  quickly  and  skilfully,  exposed 
one  making  the  attack  to  capture  and  a  terrible 
death.  The  feather  he  received  for  performing 
this  act  for  the  first  time,  was  worn  straight ;  the 


THE  CIRCLE  35 


second,  sloping;  the  third,  on  quite  a  slant;  the 
fourth,  flat  (horizontal).  If,  in  such  an  exploit, 
the  man  was  wounded,  he  received  red  feathers. 

When  a  warrior  had  won  four  feathers,  and 
had  acted  according  to  "the  old  men's  instruc 
tions",  he  had  the  honor  of  being  called  a  leader. 
He  was  chosen  by  the  vote  of  the  old  men,  and 
remained  a  leader  for  some  years.  During  that 
time  he  had  the  care  of  some  of  the  poor  and  the 
orphans  in  his  Circle.  There  were  several  leaders 
in  a  Circle.  They  were  expected  to  have  many 
horses  which  they  had  taken  from  the  enemy; 
also,  one  or  more  scalps. 

The  Indians  in  fighting  took  the  scalps  of  their 
enemies ;  very  often  when  their  victims  were  yet 
alive.  If  done  skilfully,  with  a  sharp  knife,  the 
scalp  peeled  from  the  head  like  the  skin  from  a 
banana.  It  was  soaked  in  water  for  some  time, 
scraped  carefully  inside,  and  dried  thoroughly. 
It  was  then  painted  red  inside  and  well  oiled  to 
make  it  soft.  Scalps  with  long  hair  were  of  great 
value  and  highly  respected. 

The  man  who  had  taken  a  scalp  carried  it  home 
with  great  pride  and  gave  it  to  his  sister  if  he  had 
one.  She  was  very  proud  of  it,  too,  and  carried 
it  about  with  her  at  the  next  dance  she  attended. 
The  scalp  was  kept  in  the  family,  and  when  war 
was  going  on,  it  was  brought  out  and  used.  It 
was  attached  to  the  lower  part  of  the  bridle  of  the 
horse  ridden  in  the  fight,  and,  waving  about, 
looked  ghastly  and  horrid.  This  trophy  showed 


36  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

the  enemy  that  its  owner  could  kill,  could  take 
scalps ;  therefore  he  was  to  be  greatly  feared. 

After  they  returned  from  fighting  and  were 
in  the  Circle  once  more,  the  leaders  were  to  be 
honored.  The  feathers  they  had  won  they  placed 
in  their  hair,  according  to  the  proper  mode  of 
wearing  them.  They  then  took  off  their  clothing, 
and  rubbed  their  bodies  all  over  with  the  soft  fat 
obtained  from  around  the  tail  of  a  buffalo  mixed 
with  the  black  from  charred  wood.  Those  who 
received  straight  feathers  sang  this  song:  (Tona 
wiyaka  owotanna  aopazanpi  Kin  on.) 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

Why  have  I  done  this?  Tokae  un  hecamon  he? 

Because  I  want  the  right  to      Aopazan  manica  eon. 

wear  a  feather.  Tokae  un  hecamon  he? 

Why  have  I  done  this?  Itisabya  manica  eon. 

Because  I  have  not,  as  yet, 

the    right  to    wear    black 

paint  on  my  body. 
Dakota  music. 

Perhaps  some  man  in  the  Circle  went  forward 
to  take  the  clothing  and  weapons  laid  aside  by 
one  of  these  brave  men,  and  succeeded  in  getting 
everything  away  from  him.  A  number  of  young 
girls  jumped  on  horses,  rode  about  and  helped 
them  sing.  After  going  around  the  circle  once, 
the  leaders  broke  away  and  went  to  their  own 
tipis.  They  did  not  remain  in  them  long.  They 
were  brought  out  and  taken  to  a  large  tent  which 
had  been  put  up  for  them  in  the  middle  of  the 


THE  CIRCLE  37 


circle.     This  they  were  supposed  to  occupy  for 
four  days. 

A  tree  was  provided  and  set  up  also  in  the 
middle  of  the  circle.  The  bark  was  removed  and 
the  trunk  painted  black,  and  the  scalps  that  were 
brought  home  hung  upon  it. 

The  old  chiefs  announced  that  there  must 
be  a  dance  around  the  tree.  The  young  women 
made  great  preparations.  They  blackened  their 
faces  and  dressed  themselves  in  their  soft,  beauti 
ful,  buckskin  gowns  worked  with  designs  in 
colored  beads  and  porcupine  quills.  The  wives, 
daughters,  and  sisters  of  the  warriors  represented 
them  in  the  dance  and  wore  eagles'  feathers  with 
some  of  the  web  stripped  off.  These  were  colored 
red,  signifying  thereby  the  wounds  inflicted  on 
the  enemy  and  the  flowing  blood.  The  bows, 
arrows,  lances,  spears,  or  any  other  weapons  used 
in  fighting  were  held  by  the  women  and  carried 
aloft  in  the  dance,  as  a  symbol  of  the  bravery  of 
the  warriors. 

While  the  dance  was  going  on,  and  the 
weapons  shown  off  by  the  women,  they  sang: 
(Tohand  wacipi  canhan  wipe  kin  winyau  kin 
deyapi  eca). 

SONG  (FOB  THE  WARRIORS).          ODOWAN  KIN  (WAKTE). 

The  Above  (Supreme  Being)  lye  (Wankata  kin  de  maqu, 

gave  me  this.  So  (that  is  Heon  (etan  han)  deced 

why)  ecamon. 

I  have  done  this. 

At  this  point  the  braves  came  from  the  large 


38  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPISAPA 

tent  with  their  feathers  arranged  in  their  hair. 
The  man  who  had  acquired  the  clothing  and 
weapons  of  one  of  the  braves  came  forward  and 
said  that  though  he  had  been  known  heretofore 
by  a  certain  name,  he  now  intended,  upon  receiv 
ing  his  first  feather,  to  give  it  up  and  to  assume 
a  new  one— Chasing  Bear,  perhaps,  or  something 
of  the  kind.  He  then  called  some  old  woman 
forward  and  presented  her  with  a  horse;  next 
he  gave  one  to  an  orphan  boy ;  and  so  on  until  he 
gave  away  all  the  horses  brought  home  by  him 
from  the  enemy.  He  thought  this  a  fitting  time 
to  retire,  but  the  old  men  called  him  forward 
again  on  account  of  his  good  deeds.  The  women 
and  others  danced  holding  aloft  their  weapons, 
and  singing: 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

Somewhere  a  Crow  (Indian)  Kangi    (Wicasa)    bed  wan- 
lies  dead  kedo,  e 

Chasing  Bear  has  done  it.  Mato  Wakuwa  he  econ  we. 

He  is  well  named.  He  tanyan  otaninze. 

He  has  done  well!  He  tanyan  econ  we! 

This  is  equivalent  to: 

Saul    has    killed   his    thou-      Saul  kokto  pawinge  kte. 

sand8.  David   kokto   pawinge   wik- 

David  his  tens  of  thousands !          cemna. 

These  dances  were  kept  up  for  two  months 
after  the  warriors  had  returned. 

If  defeated,  the  leader,  when  he  came  back, 
pierced  his  arms  through  with  sticks,  one  for  each 


THE  CIRCLE  39 


man  lost,  and  with  these  sticking  in  his  flesh, 
went  around  the  circle  crying.  This  showed  his 
deep  sorrow  and  repentance,  because  the  Great 
Spirit  had  not  been  on  his  side.  When  the  other 
leaders  decided  that  he  had  done  sufficient  pen 
ance,  they  allowed  him  to  remove  the  sticks.  He 
was  then  let  go  with  respect,  that  is,  he  was  held 
in  as  much  esteem  as  before  he  went  out  to  fight. 
If  a  leader  came  home  from  fighting,  badly  de 
feated,  without  any  sorrow  or  crying,  he  was  no 
more  held  in  respect,  but  counted  the  very  lowest 
man  in  the  tribe. 

If  a  leader,  then,  had  done  in  war  all  that  was 
required  of  him,  that  is,  if  he  had  met  the  enemy 
and  killed  four  men  in  the  presence  of  both  sides 
as  witnesses,  thereby  winning  his  four  feathers, 
he  was  supposed  to  be  qualified  for  behaving  him 
self  rightly  in  his  Circle.  He  was  obliged  to  love 
and  respect  his  wife  as  he  did  himself.  As  was 
said  before,  he  was  called  upon  to  give  an  old 
woman  a  horse  that  would  enable  her  to  get 
about,  and  he  was  to  care  for  the  orphans.  In 
fact  he  was  expected  to  provide  for  and  defend  in 
general,  the  needy,  the  old,  the  weak,  and  the 
little  ones.  When  the  old  men  all  were  fully  con 
vinced  that  he  was  living  as  he  should,  and  that  he 
had  done  and  was  doing  everything  in  his  power 
without  and  within  for  the  welfare  of  the  Circle, 
they  made  him  a  chief.  He  was  never  supposed 
to  seek  this  high  office  for  himself.  Self-seeking 
was  held  by  the  Indians  in  great  contempt. 


CHAPTER  III. 
THE  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN 

Tattoo— Ears  Pierced— The  Training  of  Girls- 
Various  Incidents 

N  the  preceding  chapter  we  were  introduced 
into  the  Circle — the  environment  in  which  all 
Indian  children  were  brought  up.  We  are  now 
to  learn  something  relating  immediately  to  the 
children  themselves. 

All  Indian  children  were  tattooed,  the  girls  on 
the  chin  or  forehead^  the  boys  sometimes  on  the 
body,  but  more  frequently  on  the  wrist  or  some 
other  part  of  the  arm.  This  custom  was  care 
fully  observed  because  of  an  old  tradition. 
Through  the  days  of  the  wisest  men,  the  "Milky 
Way"  was  thought  to  be  the  high  road  of  the 
Spirits,  which  led  them  either  towards  the  happy 
hunting  grounds  or  to  the  abode  of  punishment. 
An  old  man  sat  along  the  way  to  watch  them  as 
they  approached.  When  he  saw  the  spirits  of 
tattooed  children  draw  near,  he  directed  them  to 
the  right;  but  turned  the  poor  little  wanderers 
without  tattoo  towards  the  left-hand  road. 

While  a  boy  was  yet  a  tiny  baby  he  was  taken 


THE  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN          .        41 

by  his  father  to  some  man  to  have  his  ears  pierced. 
Fairly  good  sized  slits  were  cut  with  a  sharp  knife 
in  the  lobe  of  the  ear  and  pieces  of  lead  inserted, 
which  prevented  the  holes  from  growing  together 
until  the  boy  was  large  enough  to  wear  earrings. 
A  girl  had  her  ears  pierced  at  the  top  as  well  as  in 
the  lower  part ;  and  wore  large  earrings  in  each  of 
the  openings. 

The  children  were  instructed  by  their  parents 
entirely  by  word  of  mouth,  and  were  supposed  to 
remember  all  that  was  said  to  them.  It  was 
especially  impressed  upon  their  minds  never  to 
tell  a  lie,  and  they  were  counselled  as  follows: 
"You  may  live  to  be  old,  you  may  reach  middle 
age,  you  may  die  young,  we  do  not  know ;  that  is 
in  the  hands  of  the  Giver;  but  in  any  case,  be 
truthful  as  long  as  you  live.  Then  you  must  be 
pure  and  modest  and  honorable  so  that  people 
will  respect  you." 

In  those  days  the  girls  appeared  to  have  paid 
attention  to  all  the  precepts  taught  them  by  their 
parents,  and  to  have  obeyed  them  without  a 
murmur.  Very  often  the  poorer  class  of  girls 
followed  the  instruction  of  the  old  people  better 
than  those  in  the  upper  classes.  The  daughters 
liked  to  be  with  their  mothers  and  always  re 
mained  with  them  until  they  were  married.  As 
a  rule  the  Indian  girls  became  good  wives — pure, 
true,  and  upright.  They  were  kept  very  busy, 
as  they  made  the  tipis,  their  own  dresses,  and  the 
fighting  and  hunting  outfits  for  the  men  in  the 


42  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

family.  They  trimmed  all  this  clothing  with 
beautiful  work  in  beads  and  porcupine  quills. 

The  girls  who  paid  attention  to  the  good  teach 
ings  as  well  as  those  who  did  not — the  bad,  dis 
obedient  ones — had  the  gift  of  healing,  and  were 
equally  successful.  There  were  many  medicine 
women,  who  sucked  the  disease  from  the  skin  of 
anyone  that  was  ill.  Both  had,  also,  the  gift  of 
con  jury,  and  were  eagerly  sought  after  as  fortune 
tellers.  Tipi  Sapa  could  not  understand  why 
the  bad  as  well  as  the  good  should  be  endowed 
with  these  gifts  and  meet  with  success.  He 
thought  the  former  should  have  been  punished 
with  failure  at  every  turn. 

The  Circle  was  not  free  from  gossip.  Often  a 
girl  was  made  very  unhappy  by  hearing  some 
thing  that  had  been  said  against  her  character. 
At  such  a  time  she  brought  a  dish  of  food  from 
her  tipi  and  took  a  seat  in  the  circle.  She  invited 
all  the  other  girls  of  good  standing  to  bring  their 
dishes  and  join  her  in  camp.  They  dared  not  go 
if  they  were  of  doubtful  reputation.  A  large 
crowd  assembled  to  witness  the  test  called  Inno 
cent's  Fire.  An  arrow  and  a  knife  were  plunged 
into  the  ground  and  a  small  rock  was  placed  near 
them.  This  was  painted  red  or  yellow  or  any 
color  that  happened  to  be  chosen.  As  we  have 
already  learned,  a  rock  was  sacred  among  the 
Indians  and  one  of  the  means  by  which  prayers 
reached  the  Great  Spirit.  A  certain  young  man 
was  called  upon  to  step  forward.  He  perhaps  re- 


A  DAKOTA  WOMAN 


A  DAKOTA  WOMAN 


THE  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN  43 

marked :  "Well,  this  girl  promised  to  marry  me, 
but  she  lied,"  or  something  to  that  effect.  Then 
he  was  obliged  to  take  the  arrow  and  the  knife  out 
of  the  ground,  and  draw  them  across  his  lips  and 
place  his  hands  on  the  rock.  If  he,  himself,  has 
been  telling  an  untruth  in  speaking  ill  of  the  girl 
in  question  he  was  likely  to  meet  his  death  very 
shortly  afterward  in  one  of  three  ways.  He 
might  be  killed  by  an  arrow,  stabbed  with  a  knife, 
or  injured  fatally  in  stumbling  over  a  rock.  This 
seldom  failed  to  happen.  By  going  into  the  circle 
in  such  a  manner  the  girl  proved  her  innocence. 

Sometimes  a  young  woman  of  fine  character 
called  a  meeting  at  her  tipi  of  all  the  choice  girls 
in  camp  and  gave  them  a  feast.  There  was  much 
talking  back  and  forth  on  these  occasions.  "How 
many  times  have  you  been  through  'Innocent's 
Fire'?"  one  asked.  Perhaps  somebody  answered 
"Twice",  another,  "Three  times",  another  "Five 
times",  and  so  on.  They  spoke  beautifully  of 
their  mothers,  and  said  that  any  virtue  in  them 
selves  was  owing  to  the  good  teaching  they 
had  received  from  them.  These  girls  generally 
remained  a  long  while  at  the  meeting,  exhort 
ing  one  another  "to  love  and  to  good  works". 
They  laid  great  stress  upon  being  kind  to  the 
poor;  and  also  agreed  to  look  after  their  weaker 
sisters  in  the  Circle,  to  try  to  keep  them  from  go 
ing  astray.  These  meetings  were  bound  to  have 
good  results  in  that  their  influence  was  direct 
and  far-reaching. 


44  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

It  was  especially  harmful  for  a  brother,  cousin, 
father-in-law,  or  mother-in-law  to  think  any  evil  of 
a  girl  belonging  to  the  family ;  it  did  not  matter  so 
much  about  the  opinion  of  the  other  relatives  and 
connections.  By  way  of  illustration,  such  an  in 
cident  as  the  following  has  happened  many  a  time. 
A  certain  young  man  heard  by  chance,  an  un 
pleasant  story  about  his  sister.  When  he  went 
home  he  found  the  poor,  innocent  girl,  contented 
and  happy,  singing  over  the  beadwork  with  which 
she  was  busily  engaged.  "You  are  bad!  I  am 
ashamed  of  you !"  he  declared,  bluntly.  The  girl, 
not  being  able  to  endure  such  remarks,  ran  off 
without  saying  a  word.  She  was  absent  so  long, 
that  her  mother,  becoming  alarmed,  started  out 
to  look  for  her.  The  poor  woman  had  not  gone 
far  before  she  met  someone  running,  in  great 
haste,  towards  the  camp.  It  proved  to  be  a  friend 
of  her  daughter's,  who  had  just  come  through  the 
timber,  and  she  reported  that  she  had  just  seen 
the  unfortunate  girl,  with  a  lasso  around  her  neck, 
hanging  from  the  branch  of  a  tree.  Tipi  Sapa  had 
several  sisters  besides  other  women  in  his  family, 
and  his  constant  care  was  to  avoid  making 
thoughtless,  unkind  remarks  about  them  for  fear 
of  the  consequences. 


AN  INDIAN   RATTLE 


CHAPTER  IV. 
HONORING  CHILDREN 

Honoring  Girls — Honoring  Boys — "Keeping  a 
Ghost" 

3T  was  the  custom  of  a  father  to  declare  that  he 
wanted  his  children  "honored"  on  a  certain 
day.  After  he  had  made  choice  of  the  right  man 
to  perform  the  ceremony,  he  said  to  him :  "Will 
you  honor  my  daughter?  If  you  do,  I  will  give 
you  fifteen  head  of  horses."  The  man,  after 
thinking  the  matter  over,  might  finally  agree  to  it. 
This  decision  reached,  he  went  about  his  duties  at 
once.  First  he  tried  to  find  some  goodly  clothes 
for  the  girl  that  was  to  be  honored.  If  possible, 
he  procured  a  buckskin  suit  trimmed  with  beads, 
also  several  rows  of  elks'  teeth.  These,  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Indians,  were  considered  both  beauti 
ful  and  valuable.  Then  (from  under  the  wing  of 
an  eagle)  he  took  a  soft  feather  and  tied  it  with 
a  strip  of  antelope  skin,  thus  making  an  ornament 
for  the  hair.  A  girl  could  be  honored  more  than 
once;  and  she  sometimes  had  as  many  as  four 
eagles'  feathers. 

After  securing  these  things,  the  man  who  was 


46  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

appointed  to  do  the  honoring  erected  a  special  tent 
for  the  ceremony,  and  chose  seven  men  to  take 
part  in  the  performances.  Two  of  these  were  to 
carry,  in  either  hand,  an  imitation  pipe  of  peace 
and  a  rattle.*  Five  other  men  were  also  selected, 
besides  drummers  and  singers. 

They  all  met  together  and  went  towards  the 
lodge  of  the  man  who  was  to  have  his  daughter 
or  daughters  honored,  shaking  the  rattles,  beating 
the  drums  and  singing : 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

"Where  are  they  living?"  "Tukted    tipi   he?" 

(They  knew  where  it  was.) 

All  this  was  intended  to  show  that  the  girls 
were  good  and  worthy  of  being  held  in  honor. 

The  men  who  were  appointed  to  carry  the 
clothing  went,  with  the  honoring  man,  into  the 
tipi.  There  they  were  likely  to  find  a  war-bonnet, 
and  a  shirt  made  of  weasels'  skins  hanging  over 
the  entrance.  In  those  days  a  weasel  shirt  was 
very  valuable;  being  worth  fully  five  hundred 
dollars.  The  men  could  not  touch  these  articles, 
because  they  had  never  before  given  away  things 
of  this  kind  on  such  an  occasion.  There  might 
be  a  man  among  the  others  outside  who  remem 
bered  having  given  away  such  things  at  a  time  of 
honoring ;  therefore,  he  would  have  a  right  to  go  in 


*  An  Indian  rattle  was  made  by  wrapping  a  piece  of  raw-v 
hide  around  a  ball  of  clay  as  a  mold.  When  dry  the  clay  was 
removed  and  some  pebbles  were  placed  inside  the  rawhide  form. 


HONORING  CHILDREN  47 

and  get  them.  If,  several  years  after,  the  man, 
whose  children  were  being  honored,  should  be 
present  at  a  similar  ceremony  for  the  children  of 
someone  else  and  should  find  valuable  things  of 
this  sort  hanging  over  the  entrance  to  the  lodge, 
he  could  take  them  himself,  because  he  remem 
bered  that  in  times  past,  he  had  done  the  same 
thing. 

The  door  of  the  tipi  was  then  opened  and  the 
five  men  who  had  been  selected  went  in.  The 
weasel  skin  shirt  and  the  war-bonnet  were  taken. 
Each  of  the  five  men  placed  a  child  on  his  back 
and  all  went  out  towards  the  large  tent  in  the 
middle  of  the  circle.  Around  this  a  great  crowd 
was  assembled.  The  girls  were  carried  inside  the 
tent  and  the  entrance  was  closed.  A  man  came 
forward  and  painted  red  lines  up  and  down  on 
their  foreheads.  This  meant  that  they  should  try 
to  be  good.  They  were  dressed  in  their  fine  cloth 
ing  and  the  eagles'  feathers  were  placed  in  their 
hair.  The  tent  was  then  opened  so  that  everyone 
could  see  them.  The  two  men  with  the  imitation 
pipes  of  peace  and  the  rattles  in  their  hands, 
waved  the  pipes  over  their  heads,  shook  the  rattles 
and  sang : 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

The  West  Wind  knows  Wiyorpeyata  kin  sdodya 

These  people  are  blessed.  Dena  wicaya  wastepi  kin. 

The  North  wind  knows  Waziyata  kin  sdodya 

These  people  are  blessed.  Dena  wicaya  waStepi  kin. 

The  South  Wind  knows  Itokaga  kin  sdodya 

These  people  are  blessed.  Dena  wicaya  wastepi  kin. 


48  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

The  East  Wind  knows  Hinyanpata  kin  sdodya 

These  people  are  blessed.  Dena  wicaya  wastepi  kin. 

The  Earth  knows  Makata  kin  sdodya 

These  people  are  blessed.  Dena  wicaya  wastepi  kin. 

The  Creator  knows  Wankata  kin  sdodya 

These  people  are  blessed.  Dena  wicaya  wastepi  kin. 

ANoriiiuiJ  FORM  OF  THE         WANKATA    KIN    ED    OECON 

ABOVE.  TOKECA    WAN    YUKAN. 

Bless  the  West  Wiyorpeyata  kin  waste 

Bless  the  North  Waziyata  kin  waste 

Bless  the  East  Hinyanpata  kin  waste 

Bless  the  South  Itokaga  kin  waste 

Bless  the  Earth  Makata  kin  waste 

Bless  the  Creator  Wankata  kin  waste. 

After  the  songs,  the  girls  turned  around  tow 
ards  the  open  door.  Then  the  singers  pounded 
their  drums  quickly,  while  the  two  men  danced 
furiously,  keeping  time  to  the  music.  This  was 
the  finishing  touch  to  the  ceremony. 

A  great  deal  was  expected  of  the  young  people 
who  had  been  honored  and  blessed.  They  were 
supposed,  from  henceforth,  to  live  up  to  all  that 
they  had  been  taught ;  to  do  all  the  good  that  was 
in  their  power;  to  be  true,  just,  pure,  honorable. 
They  had,  as  well,  the  right  to  put  on  their  fine 
clothes  whenever  they  wished,  and  to  decorate 
themselves  with  the  same  paint  marks.  All  these 
things  proved  that  they  had  been  honored ;  but  it 
was  considered  far  better  for  them  to  show  the 
honoring  by  the  lives  they  led.  Anyone  who  at 
tempted  to  dress  and  paint  in  this  way,  without 
having  gone  through  the  ceremony  of  being 
honored,  was  held  in  great  contempt. 


HONORING  CHILDREN  49 

Boys  were  honored  in  the  same  manner,  ex 
cepting  that  on  such  occasions,  four  men  were 
chosen  to  represent  the  four  winds.  The  man 
who  talked  to  the  boys  said  in  addition«-to  what 
had  been  told  the  girls:  "Now  you  mus  honor 
the  Earth,  as  it  is  the  footstool  of  the  Great  Spirit, 
and  His  floor  that  you  walk  upon.  The  Great 
Spirit  will  guide  you.  Live  as  you  have  been 
directed  before  these  witnesses — the  Great  Spirit, 
His  footstool,  and  the  four  Winds."" 

Another  way  of  honoring  boys  will  be  told  in 
the  chapter  on  Buffalo  Hunting. 

The  man  who  had  done  the  honorings  received, 
as  has  been  stated  before,  horses  or  valuables  of 
some  kind  in  consideration  of  his  services. 

When  a  girl  reached  the  age  of  sixteen,  she  was 
put  in  a  tipi  by  herself,  and  remained  there  four 
days.  Her  mother  carried  food  and  water  to  her. 
The  best  woman  in  the  tribe  gave  her  advice  and 
talked  to  her  of  such  things  as  were  said  to  those 
who  were  publicly  honored.  Only  girls  of  good 
standing  received  these  honorings. 

There  was  still  another  way  of  honoring  a 
daughter.  The  father  made  a  number  of  balls 
and  painted  them  red.  (When  there  was  no 
fighting,  red  was  a  sign  of  peace.)  The  daughter 
threw  ten  or  fifteen  of  them  from  the  door  of  her 
tipi  into  a  crowd  assembled  in  the  circle.  Who 
ever  caught  a  ball  would  receive  a  horse.  If  one 
man  was  fortunate  enough  to  catch  two  or  three 
of  the  balls,  he  received  as  many  horses. 


50  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

Sometimes  a  man  wished  to  honor  a  daughter 
who  had  died ;  and  such  honoring  took  place  only 
in  the  best  families.  He  desired  to  keep  her  spirit 
near  him  as  long  as  possible.  Selecting  some 
thing  that  had  belonged  to  her  —  perhaps  her 
work-bag  containing  needles,  beads,  and  porcu 
pine  quills — he  tied  it  up  in  a  very  fine  skin,  and 
placed  it  on  a  tripod  in  one  corner  of  the  closed 
tipi.  Part  of  any  food  that  was  cooked  was  put 
aside  for  her.  When  he  had  done  this  for  three 
or  four  months,  he  took  a  stake  and  drove  it  into 
the  ground.  At  the  top  of  the  stake  he  fastened 
a  picture,  as  nearly  as  he  could  reproduce  it,  of 
the  daughter's  face.  Then,  having  placed  all  her 
good  clothes  and  other  belongings  near  the  stake, 
he  opened  the  tipi  and  invited  his  friends  and 
neighbors  to  the  feast  on  the  stored  food. 

Meantime  he  had  selected  a  friend  to  represent 
him  on  this  occasion.  He  sat  there  quietly,  while 
a  third  man  acted  as  master  of  ceremonies.  The 
latter  told  the  people  who  had  assembled  that  now 
the  soul  of  the  daughter  was  leaving  the  tipi  and 
going  to  the  spirit  world.  He  said  that  all  present 
must  ever  remember  this  day.  They  must  try  to 
be  pure,  true,  merciful,  humble;  to  lead  upright 
lives  as  long  as  they  were  in  this  world.  They 
had  witnessed  all  that  had  been  done  by  this 
family  to  make  people  good,  and  it  was  their  duty 
to  teach  these  things  to  their  children. 

The  man  who  represented  the  "doings"  took 
the  first  prize,  which  was  likely  to  be  the  finest 


HONORING  CHILDREN  51 

horse.  Then  the  master  of  ceremonies  received 
a  handsome  gift,  and  all  the  others  in  turn.  The 
father  of  the  girl  whose  memory  had  heen  held  in 
honor  was  bound,  after  this  ceremonial,  to  be  a 
helpful  man  in  his  tribe.  It  made  him  of  much 
more  importance  in  the  circle,  and  gave  him  a 
wider  influence.  The  young  women  as  well  as 
the  men  sought  his  advice.  If  anything  went 
wrong,  it  was  his  duty  to  set  it  right.  A  certain 
party  in  the  tribe  might  be  preparing  to  fight  with 
some  others  who  did  not  wish  to  be  drawn  into  the 
contest.  The  people  would  say :  "Why  do  you 
not  call  in  this  wise  man  to  make  the  decision?" 
It  was  then  the  duty  of  the  latter  to  persuade  the 
disputants  to  forget  their  differences  and  to  try  to 
live  in  peace. 


CHAPTER  V. 
BOYS 

Hardships  to  be  Endured  —  Cold  —  Fasting  — 
Dragging  the  Buffalo  Skull 

3NDIAN   boys   were   carefully   instructed  by 
their  fathers  in  regard  to  the  Great  Spirit  and 
all  the  lesser  gods  who  were  his  helpers.     It  was 
their  first  duty  to  try  to  gain  the  friendship  of  one 
of  these  minor  gods. 

They  had  to  be  trained  to  endure  hardness- 
bitter  cold  and  terrible  fatigue.    They  were  com 
pelled  to  walk  with  the  men  for  miles  through 
heavy  snowdrifts  in  the  face  of  a  biting  wind. 
Sometimes  they  would  be  caught  in   a   raging 
blizzard,  such  as  Tipi  Sapa  himself  encountered. 
When  he  was  a  little  boy,  he  went  with  a  number 
of  men  a  long  distance  from  camp  to  help  bring 
back   some  buffalo  that  had  been   killed.     The 
party   battled   with  the   icy   wind   and   blinding 
snow,  and  floundered  about  in  the  huge  drift  for 
two  days  and  two  nights.     Suddenly  Tipi  Sapa 
discovered  that  he  had  lost  his  moccasins !     This 
made  no  difference  to  him,  however.     He  con 
tinued  on  his  way  for  a  distance  of  four  miles 


VINE  DELORIA 

SON    OF    TIP1    SAPA 


BOYS  53 

with  bare  feet.  They  were  not  frost  bitten, 
which  seemed  almost  a  miracle.  The  rapid 
circulation  caused  by  the  constant  and  violent 
exercise  must  have  been  the  cause  of  preventing 
the  mishap. 

The  most  important  and  difficult  step  in  a 
boy's  life  was  that  of  learning  to  fast.  For  this 
purpose  he  was  taken  by  his  father  to  a  high  hill 
or  butte,  far  away  from  all  his  people.  He  carried 
with  him,  tied  in  a  large  sheet,  an  offering  of  food 
and  various  other  things  for  the  Great  Spirit. 
This  sheet  was  spread  upon  the  ground  on  top  of 
the  hill,  with  its  four  corners  towards  the  four 
points  from  which  the  wind  came  and  the  offering 
was  presented.  The  boy  was  obliged  to  remain 
in  this  place,  without  food  or  drink,  for  two  days 
and  two  nights;  and  sometimes  twice  as  long. 
Perhaps  he  would  become  so  weary  that  he  would 
lie  down  a  few  moments  upon  the  sage  brush; 
but  he  was  supposed  to  stand  all  the  time,  and 
to  call  without  ceasing  upon  the  Great  Spirit  to 
help  him. 

During  such  a  prolonged  fast,  he  was  likely  to 
see  a  vision.  Something  having  the  appearance 
of  a  man  would  stand  before  him  and  tell  him 
when  he  would  receive  help.  This  vision  itself 
would  always  remain  somewhere  within  reach. 
No  matter  in  what  part  of  the  world  the  boy 
happened  to  be,  if  he  were  in  any  trouble  all  he 
needed  to  do  was  to  sing  the  following  song,  then 
he  would  find  relief  at  once. 


54 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 


The  boy  heard  a  voice.     It  was  the  vision 
singing: 


SONG   (OF  THE  VISION) 
( 1 )   "I    come   here    to    you 

first; 
I  come  because  you  are 

calling  me. 

I  come  from  the  Nation 
of  Crows.  (East 
Wind.) 


(3) 


(2)     I    came   here    to   you 

first 
I  came  because  you  are 

calling  me, 

I  came  from  the  na 
tion  of  Iron.  (South 
Wind.) 

I    came   here    to    you 

first; 
I  came  because  you  are 

calling  me, 
I  came  from  the  nation 

of  Rocks — people  of 

stones.      (West 

Wind.) 

I    came   here    to    you 

first; 
I  came  because  you  are 

calling  me, 
I  came  from  the  nation 

of     Wolf.        (North 

Wind.) 


(4) 


WOMANYAKE    ODOWAN    KlN. 

(1)     Miye     tokaheya     wa- 

hiye; 

Miye    co    kin    on    wa- 
hiye, 

Kangimoyate    e    miye 

tokaheya  wahi 
Hinyapata  wahi. 


(2)  Miye     tokaheya     wa- 

hiye 
Miye  co  kin  on  wahiye. 

Itokaga  maza  oyate 
e   miye   tokaheya    wa 
hiye. 

(3)  Miye     tokaheya     wa 

hiye; 

Miye  co  kin  on  wa 
hiye, 

Wiyorpeyata  tunkan 
Oyate  e  miye  tokaheya 
wahiye. 

(4)  Miye     tokaheya     wa 

hiye; 

Miye  co  kin  on  wa 
hiye, 

Waziyata  sunka  oyate 
e  miye  tokaheya  wa 
hiye. 

"If  you  should  find  yourself  among  any  of 
these  nations  and  in  need  of  help,  sing  these  songs. 


BOYS  55 

You  will  be  told  what  will  happen.  Crows,  iron 
men,  rocks  or  stones  or  wolves,  will  be  your 
friends  in  each  place."  The  vision  then  dis 
appeared  with  a  loud  noise. 

("The  lad  was  filled  with  thankfulness  for  this 
encouraging  sight.  He  called  upon  the  Great 
Spirit,  told  him  he  had  seen  a  vision,  and  that  the 
future  was  as  clear  as  the  day. 

It  was  stated  before  that  the  boy  went  quite  a 
distance  from  his  people,  to  a  solitary  place,  in 
order  to  have  a  revelation  from  the  Great  Spirit. 
("Then  will  I  get  me  afar  off  and  remain  in  the 
wilderness.")  He  was  in  much  danger,  all  alone, 
•of  being  surrounded  by  enemies  and  killed.  A 
story  is  told  among  the  Sioux  Nation  of  one 
of  these  young  people  who  was  fasting  on  a 
mountain.  He  was  praying  and  crying  aloud  to 
the  Great  Spirit.  Someone  from  the  tribe  hap 
pened  to  be  wandering  about  in  that  neighbor 
hood;  and  heard  him  say  as  he  prayed:  "I  see 
the  enemy  coming ;  I  shall  be  attacked  and  killed." 
The  man  went  home  as  quickly  as  possible  and 
told  his  people.  They  gathered  themselves  to 
gether  and  hastened  to  the  place  where  the  young 
boy  was.  They  found  it  true  enough  that  the 
enemy  was  approaching,  and  there  was  a  sharp 
fight  before  the  boy  could  be  reached.  His  people 
were  victorious  and  saved  his  life. 

It  sometimes  happened  that  one  of  these 
fasters  could  not  endure  the  strain  and  would  run 
away.  Possibly  in  the  evening  of  the  second 


56  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

night  he  would  fancy  that  the  hill  or  butte  was 
shaking,  but  did  not  realize  that  it  was  himself. 
He  thought  that  it  would  tumble  to  pieces  and 
that  he  would  be  killed.  Perhaps  a  terrible  wind 
would  come  up.  He  imagined  the  full  force  of  it 
was  blowing  directly  upon  him,  and  was  struck 
dumb  with  fear.  He  could  stand  it  no  longer,  but 
would  run  like  lightning  down  the  zigzag  path 
and  across  the  prairies.  Worst  of  all  would  be 
the  rattlesnakes  crawling  out  of  their  holes,  and 
drawing  nearer  and  nearer.  He  dreaded  lest  they 
should  coil  themselves  around  him  and  sting  him 
to  death.  No  power  on  earth  or  in  heaven  could 
induce  him  to  stay  a  moment  longer,  and  off  he 
would  go  as  fleet  as  a  deer. 

The  boy  who  ran  away  would  never  have  any 
power  from  the  Great  Spirit.  He  could  not  try 
the  fast  again,  so  his  opportunity  was  lost  forever. 
He  was  also  held  in  great  contempt  by  his  people. 
Some  experienced  man  told  the  boys  how  difficult 
this  "doing"  was,  and  exhorted  them  to  be  brave 
and  never  to  run  away.  It  very  seldom  happened. 

The  "following"  was  another  method  em 
ployed  for  cultivating  the  endurance  of  hardness, 
and  it  was,  besides,  a  practice  in  praying.  A 
young  man  started  out  with  a  friend  of  his  to  look 
for  the  skull  of  a  buffalo.  One  carried  a  pipe  of 
peace,  the  other,  a  lasso.  When  they  found  the 
skull,  they  fastened  the  lasso  firmly  around  it  and 
one  of  them  placed  it  several  yards  away.  Then 
the  young  man  lay  on  the  ground  while  his 


BOYS  57 

companion  pulled  up  the  skin  from  his  back 
across  the  shoulders,  cut  four  holes  in  it  with  a 
knife,  ran  the  lasso  through  them  and  tied  it.  The 
youth  was  now  ready  to  start,  and  was  obliged  to 
drag  the  buffalo's  head  all  the  way  back  to  camp. 
Sometimes  it  got  caught  in  rough  places,  on 
stones,  twigs,  and  branches  and  had  to  be  jerked 
away.  He  turned  around  every  little  while,  with 
the  pipe  of  peace  in  hs  hand  and  prayed  to  the 
skull.  The  rope  fastened  in  the  holes  of  his 
shoulders,  probably  by  this  time  broke  through 
the  flesh.  If  not,  he  was  obliged  to  drag  the  skull 
to  the  distant  place  in  which  he  found  it. 

The  young  man  often  had  visions  during  this 
performance  (and  well  he  might!).  It  was  sup 
posed  to  make  him  successful  in  buffalo  hunting. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
MARRIAGE 

Engagements — First  Form  of  Marriage — Second 

Form — Third  Form — Fourth  Form — 

Woman's  Work 

JPNGAGEMENTS  and  marriages  among  the 
1C  Indians  were  simple  in  form  and  lacking  in 
ceremony.  In  connection  with  love-making  the 
following  incident  is  given  by  way  of  illustration. 
A  man  had  been  riding  a  long  distance  on 
horseback  and,  being  weary,  was  in  a  quiet, 
meditative  mood.  Lifting  up  his  eyes  he  saw  a 
comely  maiden  bending  over  a  stream  about  to 
draw  water;  just  as  Isaac's  servant  beheld  Re- 
bekah  as  she  was  standing  by  the  well.  He 
alighted  from  his  horse  and  stood  silently  gazing 
at  the  damsel.  She  looked  at  him  but  said 
nothing.  They  remained  a  long  time  in  breath 
ing,  speaking,  ominous  silence.  Then  the  man 
wandered  off  a  little  way  and  returned  with  two 
small  sticks.  One  of  these  was  thinner  than  the 
other,  but  both  were  exactly  the  same  length. 
He  handed  the  slender  one  to  the  young  girl. 
She  took  it,  and  after  breaking  off  a  small  piece, 


MARRIAGE  59 


gave  it  back  to  him.  This  was  a  proposal  of 
marriage  and  an  acceptance.  He  placed  the  two 
sticks  carefully  together  and  made  several  strange 
signs,  which  meant  that  in  the  new  of  the  moon 
or  at  full  moon,  he  would  come  to  bring  her  to  his 
tent  and  make  her  his  wife  and  love  her  ever  after. 

A  certain  young  man  and  young  girl  were  in 
love,  and  on  the  eve  of  being  married.  He  talked 
the  matter  over  with  her  and  suggested  that  they 
had  better  wait  until  he  had  been  out  to  fight, 
had  killed  four  men,  and  had  won  his  four 
feathers.  To  all  this  she  reluctantly  agreed.  He 
had  been  away  a  long  time  and  required  only  one 
more  feather  to  complete  the  coveted  number. 
At  last  an  opportunity  offered.  His  people  were 
expecting  any  moment  to  be  attacked.  He  with 
a  band  of  men  went  to  a  very  high  cliff  and  built 
up  all  the  loose  rocks  they  could  find  into  a 
breastwork  to  protect  themselves  against  the  ad 
vancing  enemy.  In  spite  of  all-  this,  the  latter 
rushed  upon  them  in  great  numbers  and  over 
powered  them.  The  young  man  with  many 
others,  was  forced  over  the  edge  of  the  precipice, 
and  perished  on  the  rocks  below. 

The  young  girl,  when  she  learned  that  her 
lover  was  dead,  put  on  mourning  and  "went 
about  softly  in  the  bitterness  of  her  soul".  After 
three  or  four  years  had  elapsed,  her  parents 
urged  her  to  marry  a  young  man  who  appeared 
to  be  very  desirable.  She  seemed  to  agree  to  it. 
The  tipi  was  prepared  and  the  young  man, 


60  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

when  he  went  home  in  the  evening,  fully  ex 
pected  to  find  his  bride  awaiting  him.  To  his 
surprise  the  tent  was  empty.  He  asked  several 
people  about  her,  and  was  told  that  she  was 
last  seen  going  towards  the  bluff.  That  was 
where  the  fierce  fight  had  taken  place  some  years 
before,  in  which  her  former  lover  had  met  his 
death. 

The  young  man,  almost  frantic  by  this  time, 
rushed  with  some  friends  towards  the  spot.  They 
saw  the  maiden  standing  on  the  edge  of  the  cliff 
and  heard  her  singing : 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

I  love  a  young  man,  Eca    kos'  Kanaka    wan    te- 

And  am  going  to  be  with  warinda  qon 

him  in  Spirit.  Deya  wanwekdake  ga 

Wanagiyata  kici  waun  kta 
hunSe. 


As  she  saw  the  party  eagerly  and  swiftly  ad 
vancing  towards  her  she  jumped  over  the  preci 
pice.  The  body  was  mingled  with  the  bones  of 
the  loved  one  she  had  mourned  so  many  years. 
The  remains  of  both  were  taken  up,  bound  firmly 
and  strongly  together  in  a  buffalo  hide,  then 
buried  in  the  same  spot  with  solemn  funeral  rites. 

The  following  story  illustrates  the  second  form 
of  marriage :  the  story  of  Standing  Rock,  told  by 
Paul  Yellow  Bear's  people  of  North  Dakota. 

There  was  a  popular  young  girl  in  camp  who 


A  DAKOTA  WOMAN 


MARRIAGE  61 


was  greatly  desired  for  a  wife  by  several  young 
men,  but  she  did  not  respond  to  the  advances  of 
any  of  them.  One  of  her  admirers  was  brave 
enough  to  propose  a  second  time.  He  had  met 
with  encouragement  from  the  girl's  brother,  who 
was  strongly  in  favor  of  him.  The  maiden  grew 
weary  of  this  persistent  love-making  and  wan 
dered  off  among  the  hills.  The  ardent  lover 
pursued  and  found  her,  but  she  paid  no  atten 
tion  to  his  earnest  pleadings.  When  the  girl's 
mother  realized  that  her  daughter  had  run  away, 
she  went  immediately  in  search  of  her.  She 
found  the  disdainful,  cold-hearted  maiden  a  long 
distance  away,  on  a  hillside.  She  was  reclining 
on  her  right  leg,  and  had  what  was  called  "the 
right  sitting".  In  a  faint  voice,  she  murmured: 
"Mother,  my  body  is  turning  into  stone."  The 
woman  examined  her,  and  discovered  that  her 
legs  and  the  lower  part  of  her  body  were  already 
petrified.  In  a  little  while,  every  part  of  the  girl 
became  perfectly  rigid,  and  all  her  clothing  as 
well,  including  her  buffalo  robe.  This  was 
painted,  and  the  colored  stripes — red,  white,  and 
yellow — showed  in  the  stone.  That  is  the  story 
of  Standing  Rock.  The  figure  was  set  up  at  the 
Agency — Fort  Yates — and  called :  "The  Woman 
Turned  into  a  Rock." 

In  choosing  a  wife  mere  beauty  was  not  al 
ways  a  consideration,  since  many  of  the  pretty 
girls  were  often  of  doubtful  character.  Young 
women  that  were  known  to  be  good  and  highly 


62  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

respected  were  the  most  acceptable.  It  was  also 
most  desirable  for  them  to  be  strong  and  healthy 
and  able  to  do  plenty  of  work. 

Parents  had  little  to  do  with  selecting  hus 
bands  for  their  daughters.  A  brother  or  a  cousin 
sometimes  decided  who  was  eligible  for  the  girls 
in  their  family.  Being  all  the  time  associated 
with  the  other  young  men  in  the  circle  they  had 
a  fairly  good  knowledge  of  their  character  and 
social  standing.  One  of  these  young  men  would 
be  discussed  at  home.  He  may  have  met  the 
sister  of  his  friend  before  and  liked  her ;  or  he  may 
not  be  personally  acquainted  with  her.  The  girl 
would  be  told  to  dress  in  her  finest  clothes,  and 
would  then  be  sent  with  a  present  of  a  number  of 
horses  to  the  young  man's  tent.  This  was  the 
first  and  best  form  of  matrimony,  and  was  called 
"marriage  with  horses".  It  was  true  and  lasting. 
Nothing  but  death  ever  parted  the  couple  united 
in  this  manner. 

Again,  a  young  man  and  a  girl  may  have 
talked  to  one  another  at  different  times,  and  if 
they  fancied  themselves  in  love,  they  went  to  his 
tipi  and  lived  together.  To  this  second  form, 
which  was  also  true  marriage,  belonged  the 
couples  who  engaged  themselves  with  sticks. 

Under  the  third  form  was  the  case  of  a  bad 
man  taking  a  girl  of  ill  repute  to  live  in  his  tipi. 
She  remained  with  him  as  long  as  she  had  no  one 
else  in  view;  but  was  likely  to  run  away  with  the 
next  man  who  noticed  her  and  asked  her  to  go 


MARRIAGE  63 


with  him.     Such  people  were  not  held   in   any 
respect,  but  were  despised  in  the  circle. 

Sometimes  a  girl  visited  the  tent  of  a  young 
man  she  especially  liked.  The  parents  met  her 
at  the  door  and  said:  "What  do  you  want?" 
She  replied :  "I  wish  to  marry  your  son."  The 
favored  youth  who  had  been  listening  came  for 
ward  and  said:  "Very  well,  I  accept  you."  It 
occasionally  happened  that  a  girl  was  refused. 
In  that  case,  she  set  out  to  look  for  someone  else. 
Such  marriages,  of  the  fourth  form,  were  often 
happy  and  prosperous. 

An  Indian  woman  was  busy  all  the  time.  Her 
husband  said  to  her:  "Go  and  do  your  own 
work.  I  cannot  touch  it.  If  I  do  I  shall  be  pulled 
down,  and  become  a  woman  just  like  you."  She 
replied:  "I  do  not  want  you  to  do  any  of  my 
work.  Just  attend  to  your  own  business — hunt 
ing  and  fighting." 

The  women  had  to  cut  wood,  carry  water, 
cook  the  food,  and  take  care  of  the  children. 
They  made  the  tipis,  which  were  beautiful ;  also 
the  handsome  buckskin  garments  trimmed  with 
beads  and  porcupine  quills.  It  took  a  long  time 
to  manufacture  all  the  war  accoutrements,  shirts, 
bonnets  of  eagles'  feathers,  belts,  knife  sheaths 
and  cases,  tobacco  bags,  and  many  other  articles. 
The  women  trimmed  the  spears,  lances,  clubs, 
and  various  weapons  with  beads  and  quills. 
They  tanned  the  hides  of  buffalo,  deer,  and  cattle. 
The  tanning  of  buffalo  hides  was  a  long  and 


64  THE  PEOPLE  OF  T1PI  SAPA 

difficult  process.     First  the  thick  fat  was  scraped 
from  the  inside  with  a  horn,  and  a  mush  or  paste 
made  of  the  brain,  liver,  and  gall  was  rubbed 
over  it  again  and  again.     The  hide  was  turned 
towards  the  sun  for  a  day  or  two,  then  soaked 
in  an  infusion  of  sage  brush.     After  a  certain 
length  of  time,  it  was  taken  out,  dried  thoroughly, 
and  rubbed  all  over  with  a  large  stone, 
careful  preparation  of  the  hide  made  it  soft  am 

pliable.  . 

The  women  had  entire  charge  of  everything 
connected  with  moving  camp  from  one  place  to 
another.  They  were  obliged  to  care  for  the  tents, 
the  medicines,  and  the  war  outfits;  to  saddle  the 
horses  for  the  men,  and  to  carry  the  meat  and 
other  provisions.  No  wonder  it  is  so  impressed 
upon  our  minds  that  the  Indian  woman  di< 

the  work ! 

The  parents  of  the  first  or  true  wife  sometim 
thought  she  ought  to  have  more  help.     They  sug 
gested  that  a  sister  should  go  to  live  with  her  in 
order  to  share  the  burden  of  the  work.     In  this 
way,  the  latter  became  a  wife  as  well. 

Even  with  two  wives,  the  amorous  spirit  o 
the  Indian  was  not  always  contented.     In  roving 
about,  he  would  meet  some  girl  he  fancied,  talk 
with  her  a  little  while,  and  finally  ask  her  to  go 
to  his  tipi  to  live  with  him  and  his  family, 
arrangement  generally  seemed  acceptable  to  her. 
Second  and  third  wives  were  looked  upon  merely 
as  helpers. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
MARRIAGE  (Continued) 

Other  Stories — Punishments — Divorce — Widow 
hood — Relations-in-law 

A  MAN  and  woman  married  according  to  the 
first  form,  were  as  a  rule,  true  to  one  another 
till  death  parted  them.  An  exception  happened, 
however,  in  the  case  of  Chief  Charge,  who  lived 
on  Standing  Rock  Reservation.  Some  man  ran 
off  with  his  wife,  and  was  living  in  constant 
dread  of  the  Chief.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the 
young  men  of  the  tribe  that,  at  such  a  time,  the 
husband  should  seek  out  the  offender  and  fight 
him ;  in  that  way  he  would  prove  himself  to  be  a 
true  brave.  The  advice  of  the  old  men  was 
just  the  opposite.  They  thought  that  a  higher 
courage  would  be  shown  by  the  husband,  were 
he  to  go  to  the  man  who  had  wronged  him,  and 
talk  to  him  quietly,  some  what  as  follows :  "You 
need  not  be  afraid  of  me ;  keep  my  wife ;  perhaps 
she  loves  you ;  and  you  love  her."  Chief  Charge 
followed  the  latter  course  and  not  only  surren 
dered  his  wife  at  her  desire  but  also  gave  to  the 
man  who  had  wronged  him  a  number  of  horses 


66  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

and  other  gifts,  among  them  and  more  difficult 
to  part  with,  his  war  bonnet  and  his  coat  of  finest 
buckskin  trimmed  with  hairs. 

The  following  story  is  told  of  a  woman  married 
according  to  the  second  form.  She  had  for  a 
long  time  been  badly  treated  by  a  brutal  husband. 
Not  having  the  patience  and  courage  to  endure 
it  any  longer,  she  ran  away  from  home.  She 
wandered  about,  up  hill  and  down  dale,  for  many 
months,  until  her  moccasins  were  worn  to  rags 
and  her  feet  were  badly  swollen.  She  finally 
became  so  exhausted  from  suffering,  but  chiefly 
from  want  of  food,  that  she  lay  down  on  a 
hillside  expecting  to  die.  After  a  little  while  she 
noticed  that  something  was  sniffing  about  her, 
but  felt  too  weak  to  turn  her  head  to  see  what  it 
was,  or  to  offer  any  resistance  if  she  were  in 
danger.  Presently  without  lifting  her  head,  she 
perceived  that  a  wolf  was  slinking  off  into  the 
distance.  A  few  minutes  later,  she  saw  this  same 
wolf  coming  back  with  three  others.  They  crept 
up  softly  and  stealthily  and  examined  her  closely. 
Finding  that  the  woman's  blanket  was  wrapped 
about  her  very  loosely,  they  dragged  it  off  and 
spread  it  flat  on  the  ground.  They  placed  her 
upon  it,  "by  bite,"  and  each  one  of  them  took  a 
corner  of  the  blanket  in  his  mouth.  Then  the 
wolves  trotted  away  bravely  with  their  burden 
to  some  rocky  cave  in  the  timber  land. 

In  those  days  people  were  near  to  the  animals 
and  on  friendly  terms  with  them.  This  woman 


MARRIAGE  67 


seemed  to  understand  the  nature  of  the  wolves, 
and  to  know  that  they  were  not  to  be  feared  ex 
cept  when  they   were   driven   mad   in   times  of 
famine   with   hunger  or  prolonged    snow.     Her 
captors  treated  her  with  great  kindness.     When 
ever  a  fine  sheep  or  calf  was  brought  home,  it 
was  torn  open  at  once,  and  the  liver  and  kidneys* 
were  taken  out  and  given  to  her  to  nibble  upon. 
After  a  while,  the  woman  regained  her  strength. 
She  made  friends  with  the   families  of  wolves 
living  in  these  rocky  caverns,  and  she  used  to 
enjoy    playing    with    the    fluffy    little    cubs    as 
much  as  they  did  with  her.     She  got  to  know 
the   language    of  the   wolves    and   liked    to   see 
them    smile    and    laugh.      She    remained    with 
them   a  long  time   and  began   to  feel   quite   at 
home.     One   day,   she   received   a   formal   visit 
from  some  of  them.     They  said  to  her:    "Your 
people  are  about.     They  will  find  out  our  dens 
and   attack   and  kill   us   for   our   skins;   so   we 
are  going  away,  and  shall  leave  you  behind."     She 
made  motions  to  them,  trying  to  ask  them  what 
she  could   do   in   return   for  all   their  kindness. 
They  understood,  and  replied  :     "See  that  we  get 
something  fat  to  eat."     Then  they  left  her  and 
went  their  way. 

The  woman  wandered  back  to  her  own  people, 
and  sought  out  her  mother's  tipi.  She  told  the 
story  of  her  troubles  and  of  all  the  kindness  she 


animals  —  "nsidered 


68  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

had    received    from    the  wolves.     She    also    ex 
pressed  a  strong  desire  to  give  them  what  they 
had  asked  for.     A  crier  was  told  to  proclaim  it 
in  camp.     After  the  next  buffalo  chase,  a  great 
pile  of  fat  was  collected  and  handed  over  to  her. 
The  woman  had  it  carried  a  long  distance  away, 
to  some  little  hills  or  buttes.     Then  she  called, 
or  howled,  something  like  a  wolf.     The  wolves 
recognized  her  voice  and  knew  what  it  meant  to 
them.     They  all  came  forward,  had  a  delicious 
meal,  and  carried  the  remainder  of  the  fat  to  their 
homes.      The    woman    continued    to  give    them 
food  at  intervals  for  many  years ;  and  she  and  the 
wolves  were  fast  friends.     She  was  called  Living- 
in-the-Rocks    Woman,    and    died    about    thirty 

years  ago. 

The  following  story  is  an  illustration  of  the 
punishment  inflicted  upon  those  who  disregard 
the  second  form  of  marriage.     A  certain  young 
couple  had  been  living  together  about  four  months 
and  were  apparently  happy.     The  husband  was 
called  away  for  a  little  while,  and,  upon  his  return, 
in  the  evening  time,  was  surprised  not  to  find 
his  wife  in  the  tipi.     He  soon  learned  that  she 
had  run  away  with  another  man.     He  pondered 
over  the  matter,  but  resolved  not  to  do  anything 
until  the  next  morning.     Then,  rising  early,  he 
painted  his  face  with  various  colors,  armed  him 
self  with  a  gun,  bow  and  arrows,  mounted  his 
horse  and  rode  off  in  search  of  the  guilty  pair. 
The  injured  man  had  not  gone  far  before  he 


MARRIAGE  69 


discovered  their  tracks.  He  followed  these  with 
great  rapidity  and  soon  caught  up  with  his  wife 
and  her  lover.  The  latter  upon  seeing  him  asked 
him  what  he  wanted.  The  husband  replied :  "I 
have  come  after  my  wife.  We  will  fight.  If  I 
kill  you  I  will  take  her  back ;  if  you  kill  me,  you 
can  have  her  for  your  own."  They  fought  first,  at 
some  distance  apart,  with  guns;  then  with  bows 
and  arrows,  taking  aim,  drawing,  and  coming 
nearer  and  nearer  to  one  another.  The  guilty 
man  was  sorely  wounded,  being  pierced  through 
the  lungs  with  an  arrow,  the  blood  gushing  from 
his  mouth.  His  honor  satisfied,  the  woman's 
husband  took  his  wife  home,  cut  off  her  hair 
close  to  her  head,  and  ordered  her  to  walk  away 
from  him  with  her  clothes  partly  removed. 
When  she  had  gone  a  certain  distance,  he  shot 
at  her,  wounding  her  in  the  upper  part  of  the  leg. 
After  this  disgraceful  conduct  and  its  ensuing 
punishment,  the  woman  never  went  again  inside 
of  the  circle;  none  of  the  other  women  would 
associate  with  her,  and  she  was  obliged  to  wander 
about  "all  her  years  in  the  bitterness  of  her  soul". 
She  died  seven  or  eight  years  ago.  After  a  time, 
her  lover  was  brought  home,  He  suffered  ter 
ribly  from  his  wound  for  several  months  and 
finally  died  in  agony.  A  piece  of  buffalo  fat  was 
placed  in  the  mouth  of  such  a  man,  and  he  was 
buried  face  downward.  His  spirit  was  bad  and 
must  not  disturb  the  tribe  again  as  it  had  while 
he  was  in  the  world.  This  would  be  impossible 


70  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

if  he  were  facing  downward  towards  the  centre 
of  the  earth.  The  husband  of  the  wretched 
woman  had  committed  murder.  He  was  obliged 
to  paint  himself  mud-color,  and  for  a  long  time 
afterward  was  not  allowed  to  go  into  the  circle. 
If  the  men  happened  to  be  smoking  the  pipe  of 
peace,  and  he  suddenly  made  his  appearance,  they 
did  not  hand  it  to  him ;  but  if,  by  any  chance,  he 
got  hold  of  it  to  smoke,  he  had  the  humiliation  of 
seeing  the  next  man  who  handled  it  wipe  off  the 
stem  of  the  pipe  in  his  presence.  It  would  have 
been  far  better  for  the  unfortunate  individual  who 
lost  his  wife  in  such  a  way  to  follow  the  advice 
of  the  old  men:  "Let  her  go;  leave  her  alone. 
If  you  follow  her,  and  try  to  be  avenged,  you 
make  yourself  wicked,  too." 

There  was  a  more  simple  and,  perhaps,  less 
painful  method  than  those  just  mentioned  of  rid 
ding  one's  self  of  a  wife  or  a  husband;  and  it 
constitutes  absolute  divorce  among  the  Dakota 
Nation.  This  was  carried  into  effect  when  a  great 
crowd  assembled  in  the  circle  for  a  dance.  The 
thrilling  and  enjoyable  sport  might  be  at  its 
height,  when  some  man  would  step  forward,  and, 
pointing  to  a  woman  standing  beside  him,  shout : 
"There  is  the  woman  who  has  been  my  wife! 
After  this,  she  can  carry  water  for  any  of  you. 
She  is  free !"  This  man  was  obliged  to  keep  his 
word  and  was  never  to  try  to  get  his  wife  back 
again.  If  he  did,  he  was  looked  upon  with  great 
contempt.  (He  was  not  held  in  "respection".) 


MARRIAGE  71 


A  husband  was  freed  in  a  similar  manner. 
The  wife,  assisted  by  another  woman,  sang  the 
following  song:  The  "friend"  to  whom  she  re 
ferred  was  of  course  her  husband. 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

My  friend,  go  away!  Koda,  iyayao! 

I  shall  follow  thee  no  more !       Wau  kte  sni  ye  do ! 

It  was  the  sad  fate  of  many  a  woman  to  lose 
her  husband  in  war.  She  probably  loved  him 
very  dearly,  and  became  a  sorely  afflicted  widow. 
She  proceeded  at  once  to  lower  her  dress  in  the 
neck  and  to  shorten  it  at  the  bottom.  She  then 
cut  off  her  hair  and  made  gashes  in  her  neck  and 
legs.  These  signs  of  deep  mourning  signified 
that  she  intended  to  be  true  to  her  husband  and 
never  marry  a  second  time.  In  order  to  make 
this  known,  she  walked  repeatedly  around  the 
circle,  and  stirred  up  the  sympathy  of  the  people 
by  her  forlorn  appearance. 

Tipi  Sapa  knew  of  a  woman  whose  husband 
was  killed  in  battle.  She  was  about  twenty 
years  old  at  the  time  and  was  left  with  a 
little  daughter.  He  said  that  whenever  her  hair 
grew  out  she  sheared  it  off,  and  she  gashed  her 
neck  and  legs  over  and  over  again.  There  came 
a  time,  however,  when  she  ceased  to  do  these 
things.  She  allowed  her  hair  to  grow  to  quite  a 
length,  and  parted  and  arranged  it  very  neatly. 
Then  she  put  on  her  best  shawl  and  went  to  talk 
with  some  of  her  friends.  Upon  seeing  her  im- 


72  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

proved  appearance,  they  looked  at  her  in  surprise. 
She  said  to  them :  "You  suppose  I  am  thinking 
of  some  man ;  but  I  am  not.  Things  are  now  to 
be  just  as  I  want  them.  I  dreamed  last  night 
that  my  husband  was  talking  to  me,  and  he  said : 
'You  and  the  daughter  will  soon  be  with  me/ 
That  means  I  shall  die  soon."  She  then  went  to 
her  log  house.  A  night  or  two  afterward  a 
cousin  came  to  visit  them.  The  widow  gave  her 
a  bed  in  the  corner,  and  made  up  one  for  her 
little  daughter  and  herself  directly  in  the  center 
of  the  room.  During  the  night,  the  heavy  ridge 
pole  that  supported  the  log  house  fell,  and 
brought  down  the  roof  with  it.  Both  mother  and 
daughter  were  instantly  killed.  The  dream  had 
come  true.  The  sorrowful  widow  and  the  little 
daughter  were  once  more  united  to  the  husband 
and  father. 

A  woman's  father-in-law  and  mother-in-law 
were  obliged  to  be  most  careful  not  to  say  any 
thing  that  would  offend,  or  hurt  the  feelings  of 
their  daughter-in-law.  Great  evil  and  sorrow 
might  be  the  result ;  such  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
case  of  a  brother  making  unkind  remarks  to  a 
sister. 

A  son-in-law  was  supposed  never  to  see  or 
to  look  towards  his  mother-in-law.  If  he  did  he 
was  considered  a  bad  man.  Neither  must  a 
woman  ever  look  at  her  son-in-law.  They  may 
have  seen  one  another  before  they  became  con 
nections,  but  they  must  never  let  it  happen 


MARRIAGE  73 


again.  As  was  said  before,  it  was  most  impor 
tant  that  a  brother  should  respect  his  sister,  and 
that  a  girl  in  a  family  should  rather  die  than  have 
unkind  reflections  cast  upon  her  by  a  brother;  in 
the  same  way  was  a  son-in-law  obliged  to  respect 
his  mother-in-law. 

The  following  story  is  an  illustration  of  the 
regard  shown  by  a  son-in-law  for  his  mother-in- 
law.  It  deals  with  an  Indian  named  Bone  Club, 
who  is  now  living  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wah- 
pala  on  Standing  Rock  Reservation,  South  Da 
kota.  He  had  his  tipi,  at  one  time,  very  near 
that  of  his  wife's  parents ;  but  the  opening  faced 
in  the  opposite  direction.  A  little  way  beyond 
and  almost  between  the  tipis  was  a  corral  made 
of  cottonwood  trees.  In  this  corral  were  the 
horses  of  both  families.  Some  warrior,  called  a 
prophet  but  not  a  fighter,  predicted  that  a  horse 
would  soon  be  taken  from  this  corral  by  a  Crow 
Indian.  The  same  man  would  be  seen  falling 
from  the  horse  with  bloods  (i.  e.,  with  drops  of 
blood  falling  down).  That  very  night,  a  noise 
was  heard  outside  the  tipis.  The  father-in-law, 
thinking  that  it  was  his  son,  Black  Bear,  return 
ing  home,  called  out,  "Is  that  you,  my  Son?" 
Immediately  there  was  a  shot ;  and  the  old  man, 
with  a  groan,  fell  back  dead.  The  son-in-law, 
Bone  Club,  felt  that  it  was  his  duty  to  die,  rather 
than  have  his  mother-in-law  harmed.  On  hear 
ing  the  shot  he  rushed  from  the  tipi,  just  in  time 
to  see  a  Crow  Indian  ride  away  on  one  of  her 


74  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

horses.  Bone  Club  ran  after  him  and  shot  at  him 
several  times.  The  next  morning  the  horse  was 
seen  as  prophesied,  and  the  man  falling  from  him, 
with  blood  drops  staining  the  snow.  It  was  the 
Crow  Indian  who  had  ridden  between  the  tipis 
and  stolen  the  horse.  He  also  had  shot  down  the 
old  man  when  the  latter  had  called  out  on  hear 
ing  the  noise  in  the  corral.  , 

The  following  story  also  illustrates  the  re 
spect  of  sons-in-law  for  mothers-in-law.  A  man 
named  Big  Head,  hearing  a  noise  in  the  night, 
rushed  from  his  tipi  and  found  that  his  mother- 
in-law's  horse  had  been  stolen.  He  saw  a  man 
riding  away  at  full  speed,  and  followed  him  very 
closely.  Then  Big  Head  drew  arrow  after  arrow 
from  his  bow  until  he  had  stuck  the  object  of 
pursuit  full  of  the  deadly  weapons.  The  man  was 
overcome  and  fell  down  from  the  stolen  horse. 
The  night  was  intensely  dark  with  not  even  a 
star  to  be  seen.  Big  Head  took  flint  and  steel ; 
and,  with  the  soft  wood  which  he  carried  in  his 
leathern  belt,  made  a  light.  He  found  that  his 
victim,  though  bristling  with  arrows,  was  still 
alive.  Big  Head  seized  him  by  the  hair,  and  with 
a  great  sharp  knife  carved  off  his  head  right 
around  the  throat.  Carrying  the  grim  trophy 
home  in  triumph,  he  placed  it  on  a  pole  outside 
of  his  tipi. 


THE  ENEMY  IS  COMING  ! 
From  a  Painting  by  Wm.  de  la  Montague  Cary 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
THREE  KINDS  OF  FIGHTING 

(i)  Stealing  Horses  at  Night  (see  Chapter  VII). 

(2)   Fighting  on  Horseback. 

(3)  Fighting  on  Foot. 

3N  the  last  chapter,  in  connection  with  the 
respect  shown  to  the  relations-in-law,  one 
mode  of  fighting  has  been  partially  considered, 
namely,  that  of  stealing  horses  at  night.  There 
was  a  certain  system  in  the  performance  of  this 
method. 

Sometimes  a  number  of  men  set  out  to  steal 
horses,  and  halted  at  some  point  a  safe  distance 
from  the  enemy's  camp.  Then  they  gathered 
several  small  sticks,  sharpened  them,  and  placed 
them  sloping  in  the  ground,  /  /  /  /,  a  stick  for 
each  man.  After  some  of  the  men  had  returned 
from  their  dangerous  errand,  they  learned  who 
was  missing  from  their  number  by  the  arrange 
ment  of  these  little  pieces  of  wood.  One,  point 
ing  towards  camp, —  indicated  that  the 

man  whom  it  represented  had  gone  home.  A 
stick  broken  and  crossed  showed  that  one  had 
been  killed.  Perhaps  one  stick  out  of  the  whole 
number  happened  to  remain  as  it  was  first  placed. 


76  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A ^_ 

This  served  as  a  sign  that  its  owner  had  not  yet 
returned.  He  was  either  dead  or  else  badly 
wounded. 

Another  and  more  important  mode  of  fighting 
consisted  in  carrying  on  a  regular  and  sometimes 
prolonged  warfare  between  bands  of  men 
mounted  on  horses.  The  true  braves  of  the  hos 
tile  tribes  were  chosen  to  take  part  in  such  a 
conflict.  It  was  the  custom,  before  fighting,  to 
send  out  spies  in  order  to  learn  exactly  how  the 
enemy  was  situated.  These  men  always  went 
and  came  in  the  daytime.  If  one  of  them  had 
seen  the  enemy  and  wished  to  let  his  people 
know,  he  did  not  take  the  time  to  return  to  them. 
He  climbed  the  nearest  hill,  stood  on  the  summit 
and  kicked  backward.  That  meant,  "The  enemy 
is  there,  get  ready  for  him !"  Or,  he  took  off  his 
blanket  and  waved  it  at  them.  This  signified  that 
there  would  be  a  fight  at  once. 

Parties  of  men  were  often  out  in  the  night; 
and  as  they  came  back  to  camp,  one  of  them  gave 
a  call,  or  a  prolonged  yell.  It  was  similar  to  the 
howling  of  a  wolf,  with  two  short  barks  at  the 
end.  The  men  in  camp  answered:  "All  right, 
you  belong  to  us."  Occasionally,  someone  came 
along  and  howled,  without  the  two  little  barks. 
This  proved  to  those  in  camp  that  it  was  an 

enemy. 

The  best  warrior  and  also  a  prophet  (another 
name  for  warrior)  among  the  Sioux  was  a  man 
named  Red  Leaves.  He  was  very  handsome— 


THREE  KINDS  OF  FIGHTING  77 

with  yellow  hair,  and  nearly  six  and  a  half  feet 
in  height.  His  people  were  on  the  verge  of  war 
with  the  Pawnees,  a  neighboring  tribe.  The  chief 
and  leaders  held  a  council  to  decide  what  was  best 
to  be  done.  At  this  meeting  Red  Leaves  was 
called  upon  to  speak,  and  talked  a  long  time. 
Among  other  things  he  said:  "There  is  a  man 
among  our  enemies,  the  Pawnees,  that  we  have  to 
look  out  for.  He  has  one  white  eye,  and  is  also 
left-handed.  His  nature  is  something  like  that  of 
a  wild  cat — fierce,  sly,  and  cruel." 

Next  day,  when  the  Sioux  rode  into  the  fight, 
they  kept  in  mind  what  Red  Leaves  had  said  to 
them.  They  determined  to  watch  for  this  dreaded 
Pawnee  and  make  him  their  target.  A  Sioux 
named  Running  Amidst,  acting  according  to  his 
name,  rushed  ahead  with  his  people,  and  made  a 
furious  attack  upon  the  enemy.  He  tried  to  hit 
the  Pawnee  and  all  the  others  around  him,  but  in 
vain,  owing  to  the  uncontrollable  restiveness  of 
his  horse.  Finally,  Running  Amidst  managed  to 
turn  the  beast  around  and  to  attack  the  enemy, 
taking  aim  right  and  left,  until  he  reached  the 
Pawnee  with  the  white  eye.  This  man  forth 
with  drew  an  arrow  at  Running  Amidst  and  shot 
him  through  the  body.  The  latter  rode  on  with 
the  arrow  sticking  in  him.  Upon  seeing  his  com 
rades  gather  about  him  he  said :  "Friends,  do  all 
you  can  to  them.  They  have  now  killed  me." 
Shortly  after  that  he  fell  to  the  ground.  The 
Sioux  jumped  from  their  horses  and  rushed 


78  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

savagely  on  foot  upon  the  Pawnees.  The  left- 
handed  man  was  fighting  so  desperately  that  no 
one  dared  to  go  close  to  him.  Finally  a  little 
Sioux  named  Brazo  came  along  and  rode  di 
rectly  up  to  him.  The  Pawnee  immediately  took 
aim  at  Brazo.  The  latter  making  an  effort  to 
protect  himself,  held  his  arm  tightly  against  his 
body  and  face,  but  without  avail.  The  arrow 
of  the  white-eyed  man  went  directly  through 
Brazo's  arm  and  penetrated  his  left  side.  The 
latter  then  fought  the  Pawnee  with  fury.  He 
struck  him  with  his  bow  over  and  over  again 
violently  and  so  quickly,  that  he  did  not  give 
him  the  slightest  chance  of  pulling  any  arrows 
from  his  quiver.  Upon  seeing  the  situation, 
Brazo's  friends  gathered  around  and  soon  put  an 
end  to  the  dreaded  Pawnee.  The  left-handed 
man  with  the  white  eye  had,  however,  managed 
to  do  a  good  deal  of  harm,  as  foretold  by  Red 
Leaves,  in  killing  one  of  the  bravest  warriors 
among  the  Sioux,  and  badly  wounding  another. 
His  enemies  secured  the  necklace  of  the 
Pawnee,  and  brought  it  back  to  camp.  The 
necklace  was  made  of  white  corn  with  some  blue 
grains  here  and  there,  and  a  bundle  of  medicines 
was  attached  to  it.  As  the  men  were  passing  the 
necklace  from  one  to  the  other  and  examining  it 
by  the  camp  fire,  some  of  the  grains  of  corn  fell 
to  the  ground.  At  that  moment,  Red  Leaves, 
who  had  partially  recovered,  came  in.  Upon  see 
ing  what  the  braves  were  about,  he  remarked, 


THREE  KINDS  OF  FIGHTING  79 

"Why  did  you  not  leave  the  necklace  on  the 
dead  man?  It  is  bad  luck  that  those  grains  have 
dropped  off.  It  means  that  seven  of  our  next  war 
party  will  be  killed." 

The  following  spring  a  band  of  warriors  went 
out,  on  foot,  led  by  a  young  man  who  carried  a 
bell  on  a  stick.  They  were  accompanied  by  Red 
Leaves  part  of  the  way.  After  marching  for 
some  distance,  they  came  to  a  place  which  seemed 
favorable  for  camping  over  night.  After  they 
were  seated  around  the  fire,  they  were  startled 
by  a  strange  noise.  It  was  the  leader's  bell, 
ringing  violently  of  itself.  Red  Leaves,  who  had 
just  come  in,  told  his  friends  that  this  was  a 
sign  of  danger.  A  number  of  the  party  were 
frightened  and  returned  home  at  once.*  A  man 
named  Walking  Crane  said  that  he  would  not  go 
back  for  any  reason  whatever;  that  he  had  come 
out  to  fight ;  and  that  he  fully  expected  either  to 
be  killed  or  wounded. 

This  brave  man,  with  twenty-two  others,  set 
out,  the  next  day,  to  fight  the  whole  tribe  of 
Pawnees.  As  they  drew  near  the  timber  of  the 
enemy,  they  saw  two  women  carrying  wood  into 
camp.  One  of  the  Sioux,  Short  Haired  Bear,  said 
to  Walking  Crane :  "Let  us  go  and  kill  those 


*  If  a  man  started  out  with  a  war  party,  and  after  a  time, 
wished  to  return  home  because  his  courage  gave  out,  he  was 
allowed  to  go,  but  was  held  in  great  contempt.  All  his  com 
panions  barked  like  dogs  at  him.  The  barking  was  a  curse.  They 
wanted  him  to  feel  that  he  was  disgraced.  If  he  left  the  party 
on  account  of  being  ill,  he  was  not  barked  at,  but  permitted  to 
depart  in  peace. 


80  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

women,  they  are  enemies".  Walking  Crane  re 
plied  :  "I  fight  only  men.  Kill  them,  if  you  wish. 
You  are  just  like  them."  Short  Haired  Bear  and 
a  man  named  Little  Soldier  ran  towards  the 
enemy's  camp,  the  latter  arriving  first.  They 
killed  the  two  women,  and  then  went  back  to  their 
party.  The  Sioux  were,  by  this  time,  surrounded 
by  the  whole  tribe  of  Pawnees.  Walking  Crane 
thought  it  best  to  fight  in  the  open,  away  from 
the  timber.  He  placed  men  at  intervals  along  the 
river.  These  twenty-three  Sioux  fought  the 
enemy  a  whole  day,  until  they  were  overtaken  by 
darkness.  Then  the  chiefs  of  the  Pawnees  came 
forward  and  stopped  it.  Seven  of  the  Sioux  were 
killed,  as  Red  Leaves  had  predicted,  and  eleven 
were  injured.  Five  only  remained  uninjured. 
Little  Soldier  had  his  heels  nearly  shot  off.  He 
hobbled  a  long  way,  on  foot.  Finally  he  could  go 
no  further  and  lay  down  by  the  roadside. 

Red  Leaves,  who  had  returned  long  before, 
and  the  other  Sioux  in  "the  home  camp"  saw  a  big 
crow  with  white  on  its  throat  flying  overhead  and 
imagined  that  they  heard  it  say,  as  it  was  flying 
high,  "Seven  of  your  men  have  been  killed.  The 
others  will  be  back  by  to-morrow  night."  Next 
day  a  war  party  came  home  as  the  crow  had  said. 
They  were  hungry  and  had  no  clothes.  The 
spring  nights  in  their  country  were  intensely  cold, 
too.  They  told  the  people  in  camp  that  they  had 
left  Little  Soldier  behind.  He  was  terribly 
wounded  in  the  feet  and  had  nearly  lost  his  heel. 


THREE  KINDS  OF  FIGHTING  81 

His  relatives,  supposing  that  by  this  time  he  must 
be  surely  dead,  wept,  cut  themselves  with  knives, 
and  put  on  mourning.  About  four  months  after 
wards  Little  Soldier  came  home,  a  perfect  skel 
eton.  His  experiences  are  narrated  in  the  next 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
GHOSTS. 

The  Experiences  of  Little  Soldier— The  Story  of 
Ash 

N  a  certain  occasion  in  the  year  1876,  Tipi 
Sapa  invited  Little  Soldier  and  six  other  men 
to  his  lodge.  They  came;  and  all  heard  the  fol 
lowing  incidents  related  by  Little  Soldier  himself. 
When  his  companions  were  about  to  leave  him 
for  dead,  he  called  to  them:  "Make  me  a  little 
wigwam  by  this  stream,  in  the  shade  of  the  wil 
lows,  and  let  me  have  some  bullets  and  powder." 
They  did  as  he  asked,  then  went  on  their  way. 
Little  Soldier  remained  there  about  ten  days.  He 
had  scarcely  any  clothing,  and  no  blanket  to  wrap 
around  him  those  cold  nights  in  the  springtime. 
The  only  way  in  whch  he  could  keep  warm  was 
by  rolling  himself  about.  He  had  little  to  eat, 
too,  sand  turtles  and  small  bi'rds  being  the  only 
kind  of  food  he  could  get  in  that  neighborhood. 
He  was  not  far  from  the  camp  of  the  Pawnees, 
and  could  plainly  hear  the  music  and  the  shouts 
of  the  dance.  Every  night,  when  he  lay  down,  he 


GHOSTS  83 

expected  they  would  come  over  and  put  an  end 
to  him. 

One  evening  as  he  was  sitting  at  the  door  of 
hig  wigwam,  he  heard  some  one  talking  in  a  very 
loud  voice.  He  recognized  the  voice  of  Walking 
Crane,  one  of  the  seven  men  who  had  been  killed 
in  the  last  fight.  He  seemed  to  be  saying:  "I 
thought  they  had  all  gone  home,  but  here  is  one 
of  them.  We  will  go  along  with  him"  (meaning 
Little  Soldier).  Suddenly  they  all  appeared  and 
went  into  the  wigwam  with  him,  The  pipe  of 
peace  was  lighted,  handed  around,  and  smoked. 
Then  they  started  out  and  travelled  the  rest  of 
the  night;  but  as  soon  as  day  began  to  dawn  in 
the  east,  the  seven  spirits  disappeared.  Little 
Soldier  said  to  himself:  "Well,  I  never  thought 
these  people  had  been  killed."  (They  seemed  so 
real.)  When  daylight  came,  causing  them  all  to 
grow  dim  and  vanish  away,  he  said:  "Oh,  yes, 
now  I  remember  they  were  killed." 

These  same  figures  appeared  again  the  next 
night,  and  took  Little  Soldier  a  long  distance  with 
them.  At  the  first  streak  of  dawn  they  passed 
out  of  view  once  more,  leaving  him  alone.  This 
went  on  for  some  time,  until  Walking  Crane  said 
to  him:  "To-morrow,  in  the  daylight,  you  will 
see  some  hills  with  a  growth  of  sage  brush  at  the 
foot  of  them.  Coming  out  of  the  brush  will  be  a 
deer;  just  fire  at  him  and  kill  him."  The  next 
day,  after  the  ghosts  had  left  him,  Little  Soldier 
found  the  things  exactly  as  Walking  Crane's  spirit 


84  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

said.  He  killed  the  deer,  opened  him,  took  out 
the  liver  and  kidneys,  and  ate  them.  Then  he 
peeled  off  the  skin  and  thus  provided  himself  with 
a  warm  covering. 

Little  Soldier  remained  in  this  place  about 
thirty  days.  Then  the  spirits  came  back  and 
asked  him  to  go  along  with  them  again.  Finally, 
after  all  this  travelling,  he  found  he  had  reached 
a  place  where  there  were  fresh  tracks  of  animals 
and  people.  He  was  evidently  near  camp,  but 
could  hardly  believe  it.  He  dragged  himself 
along  for  a  little  way,  but  soon  grew  tired,  and 
sank  down  just  outside  of  the  circle.  Some  men 
who  were  walking  by  saw  him  lying  there,  and 
said  to  him,  "Are  you  Little  Soldier?"  He  said, 
"Yes."  The  men  hurried  back  and  told  the 
people ;  they  got  a  blanket,  placed  Little  Soldier  in 
it,  and  carried  it  by  the  four  corners  into  camp. 
His  heel  was  quite  well  again  but  he  looked  and 
seemed  like  a  ghost. 

A  story  is  told  of  a  Yankton  Sioux,  named  Ash, 
who  was  taken  ill  and  died.  His  body  was  neatly 
dressed  in  his  best  clothing ;  and  instead  of  being 
buried,  was  placed  in  the  cemetery  in  a  tipi  on 
high  poles.  Everything  was  carefully  arranged, 
and  the  little  door  was  securely  fastened.  The 
people  in  camp  were  about  to  move  their  quarters, 
as  they  needed  better  pasture  for  their  horses. 
The  wife  and  the  mother-in-law  wished  to  see 
Ash  before  they  left,  so  one  night  they  went  to  the 
burying  ground.  The  mother-in-law  became  very 


GHOSTS  85 


tired  and  fell  asleep.  The  wife  sat  there  a  long 
time  crying  bitterly.  After  a  while,  she  thought 
she  heard  some  one  breathing  heavily.  She 
opened  the  door  of  the  tipi  and  found  Ash  turned 
over  on  his  side.  He  motioned  to  her  to  give  him 
some  water  from  a  cup  that  was  hanging  on  a 
pole.  She  handed  it  to  him  at  once,  but  saw  that 
he  did  not  drink  well.  His  face  was  badly  swollen 
as  in  death.  Then  the  wife  awakened  the  mother- 
in-law,  and  hastened  back  to  camp  with  her  to  tell 
the  people.  On  hearing  the  news,  some  of  them 
went  quickly  to  the  cemetery,  and  took  with  them 
a  bed  on  poles  swung  over  a  horse.  They  put 
Ash  on  the  bed  and  took  him  towards  the  camp. 
He  refused  to  go  into  the  circle,  as  he  said  he 
could  not  stand  the  smell  of  the  people,  and 
wished  to  be  kept  out  of  the  way  of  the  wind  that 
blew  over  from  them.  They  took  him  to  a  place 
some  little  distance  away,  and  the  people  went 
to  see  him  there.  After  a  while  the  swelling  went 
down,  and  he  became  more  natural.  Ash  finally 
consented  to  go  into  the  circle.  He  was  led  to 
the  middle  of  the  tent  and  questioned  by  the  lead 
ing  men.  The  pipe  of  peace  was  taken  by  one  of 
them  and  then  pointed  to  heaven,  to  the  four 
corners  of  the  winds,  and  to  the  earth.  "We  want 
you  to  tell  us,  Ash,"  he  said,  "all  that  you  can 
of  the  spirit  world.  God  is  your  witness  that  you 
will  tell  nothing  but  the  truth  about  what  you 
saw."  He  agreed  to  do  this  and  smoked  the  pipe 
of  peace  with  them. 


86  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

He  related,  first  of  all,  that  he  walked  along  a 
path,  and  saw  a  man  and  his  wife  and  a  girl  in 
front  of  him.  He  tried  to  overtake  them,  but 
could  not,  and  lost  sight  of  them  altogether.  He 
thought  he  was  walking  on  the  earth,  but  soon 
discovered  that  he  was  mistaken.  He  had  reached 
a  great  height,  and,  on  looking  down,  saw  the 
earth  far  below  him;  also  the  path,  that  was 
visible,  leading  upward.  Then  he  came  to  the 
bank  of  a  river,  and  perceived  the  foot-tracks  of 
the  three  people  mentioned  before,  in  the  bed 
(bottom)  of  the  river.  He  could  not  tell  whether 
he  himself  had  walked  through  it  or  not.  When 
he  reached  the  other  shore,  he  noted  the  traces  of 
three  people,  from  the  water  sprinkled  on  the 
sand.  They  may  have  been  the  same  ones,  but 
he  did  not  know. 

A  great  crowd  was  gathered  on  the  other  side. 
He  saw,  in  a  tipi,  his  brother-in-law,  sister,  and 
father.  His  sister  brought  something  out,  and 
put  it  in  a  kettle  over  the  fire  to  cook.  As  it 
boiled,  it  emitted  a  dreadful  smell.  At  that 
moment  his  brother-in-law  threw  something  tow 
ards  him,  a  lasso,  made  of  buffalo  hairs.  He 
called  to  Ash,  and  said  that  he  wanted  him  to  give 
him  his  best  horse.  Ash  replied  that  he  would 
send  him  his  fine  bay  horse,  and  then  went  on  his 
way.  He  met  some  people  who  told  him  about 
an  island  that  he  was  passing.  He  watched 
beings  on  it  who  cried  and  sang  all  the  time  about 
death.  They  were  murderers,  undergoing  the 


__^^ GHOSTS  87 

horrors  of  everlasting  punishment.  He  listened 
to  the  distressing  sounds,  then  went  on  and  on, 
a  very  long  distance.  Finally,  he  came  to  the  tipi 
in  the  burying  ground.  He  saw  a  man  in  it,  lying 
on  his  back,  and  recognized  himself.  His  ears 
burst  open  with  a  wh-wh-wh-sh.  His  wife  was 
standing  by  his  side,  trying  to  make  him  drink 
some  water.  Then  he  remembered  that  he  was 
placed  on  a  horse  and  carried  to  camp :  that  he  re 
fused  to  go  into  the  circle  on  account  of  the  odor, 
and  until  the  swelling  was  gone  down.  Finally, 
there  he  was,  among  them. 

When  Ash  had  finished  his  story,  he  told  the 
leading  men  that  he  took  the  lasso  made  of  buf 
falo  hairs,  and  wanted  to  secure  his  best  horse  for 
his  brother-in-law.  Just  then,  all  the  horses  be 
longing  to  camp  took  fright,  and  ran  away  from 
the  water  which  they  had  been  drinking.  Ash's 
fine  bay  horse,  which  he  had  promised  as  a  gift, 
fell  and  broke  his  neck ;  so  the  spirit  of  this  animal 
went  to  his  brother-in-law  in  the  far-off  world 


CHAPTER  X. 

COMMUNICATING  WITH  SPIRITS 
The  Spirit  of  the  Buffalo 


®HE  Indians  had  various  ways  of  communicat 
ing  with  the  spirits  in  order  to  obtain  their 
help  in  sickness  or  in  fighting  and  in  hunting. 
The  men  in  the  circle  who  were  supposed  to  know 
"secret  things"  were  chosen  for  this  purpose. 

The  medicine  man  in  olden  times  was  called 
for  all  kinds  of  diseases  of  mind,  of  body,  and  of 
spirit.  He  would  bring  his  drum,  made  by  stretch 
ing  a  dry  hide  over  a  wooden  plinth,  and  would 
bring  his  medicine  ball.  This,  too,  was  made  of 
cowskin  with  pebbles  inside  and  fastened  to  a 
wooden  handle.  As  the  Pejuta  Wicasa  (medicine 
man)  beat  the  drum  with  it,  the  rattling  pebbles 
helped  to  frighten  away  the  spirit  of  disease. 
Pejuta  Wicasa  would  smoke  his  pipe  of  kin- 
nikinick,  offering  the  first  smoke  to  the  spirits, 
would  pray  for  their  help  and  would  sing  and 
dance  to  scare  the  spirit  of  sickness  away. 

He  would  use  roots  and  herbs  in  some  cases, 
but  his  faith  and  skill  were  dependent  upon  the 
spirits,  good  or  evil. 


COMMUNICATING  WITH  SPIRITS  89 

Among  the  Yankton  Dakotas  was  a  famous 
medicine  man  named  Saswe,  the  father  of  Tipi 
Sapa,  who,  as  a  youth,  had  a  wonderful  vision. 
Three  years  in  succession,  at  just  the  same  time, 
he  heard  a  voice  calling  him.  The  fourth  year  he 
listened  for  the  voice  and  heard  it  for  the  last 
time.  In  answer  to  its  call  he  made  a  rug  of 
buffalo  skin,  flung  it  about  him,  and  going  far 
away  from  all  his  people,  fasted  for  four  days. 
On  the  fourth  night  his  spirit  was  beckoned  off  to 
the  black  clouds  and  the  gift  of  healing  and  the 
control  of  evil  spirts  was  bestowed.  The  presence 
of  snakes,  thunder,  and  darkness  all  deepened  the 
solemnity  of  this  experience. 

After  Saswe  returned  to  his  home,  he,  with  his 
son  whom  he  named  Black  Lodge  (Tipi  Sapa), 
would  visit  the  afflicted.  Once  he  was  called  to 
help  a  woman  with  a  wandering  mind.  He  had 
her  placed  alone  in  a  tipi,  while  her  relatives  in 
sured  perfect  silence  by  keeping  the  dogs  still. 
All  night  long  he  sang  to  the  spirits,  praying  for 
their  help.  The  evil  spirit  fluttered  about  the 
tent-poles  all  night.  In  the  morning  he  sent  a 
spirit  of  thunder  and  lightning  around  the  inside 
of  her  tent  and  her  mind  was  restored. 

Fever  and  broken  bones  were  treated  similarly. 
Sometimes  he  would  smoke  his  pipe,  hold  a  red 
hot  iron  in  his  mouth,  and  then  breathe  upon  his 
patient.  This  would  effect  a  cure. 

At  other  times  he  would  be  called,  and,  after 
smoking  in  the  patient's  presence,  would  say,  "I 


90  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

can  do  nothing."     Then  no  one  could  persuade 
him  to  try  to  do  anything. 

One  time  a  body  of  men  started  out  to  fight, 
but,  as  they  drew  near  the  enemy's  country,  they 
became  very  fearful.  They  could  not  rid  them 
selves  of  the  thought  that  they  might  all  be  killed. 
Having  found  a  good  place  for  camp,  they  shot 
two  buffalo  cows,  roasted  the  sweet,  tender  meat 
and  made  a  splendid  feast.  ("Let  us  eat  and 
drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die.")  In  the  midst  of 
making  merry  over  their  food,  the  warriors 
discovered  that  their  horses  had  taken  fright 
at  something  and  had  run  away.  This  piece 
of  ill  luck  was  most  alarming.  They  felt  that 
they  might  be  attacked  at  any  moment,  and 
were  quite  unprepared  to  meet  the  enemy. 
Next  morning,  they  resolved  to  ask  help  from 
Little  Brave,  one  of  their  number  who  was 
supposed  to  have  some  knowledge  of  the  Spirits. 
He  said  he  did  not  want  to  interfere  with  the 
man  who  was  with  them  (Walking  Crane),  who 
knew  all  about  the  spirits  and  "secret  things", 
but  since  they  had  consulted  him,  he  would  try  to 
do  what  he  could.  On  hearing  this,  they  at  once 
dug  a  grave,  wrapped  the  wise  man  in  a  buffalo 
robe  as  though  he  were  dead,  and  let  him  down 
into  the  ground.  While  he  was  there,  Little 
Brave  called  the  spirits  about  him  and  talked  with 
them.  After  a  time  he  came  out  of  the  grave  and 
said  to  the  people  who  were  anxiously  waiting  for 
him :  "You  know  we  had  a  feast  last  night  and 


COMMUNICATING  WITH  SPIRITS  91 

gave  nothing  to  the  spirits.  They  are  much  of 
fended  at  us  because  we  neglected  them ;  and  it 
was  they  who  drove  our  horses  off  to  that  lake  we 
passed.  The  fine,  black  horse  has  broken  one  of 
his  forelegs  at  the  ankle.  Our  people  will  find 
them  soon  and  bring  them  back.  Perhaps  you 
remember  that  a  certain  man  with  us  who  knew 
some  secrets  ('had  hidden  power')  told  you  that 
you  would  get  some  horses.  My  spirits  that  were 
just  now  talking  with  me,  said :  'You  and  your 
people  will  soon  have  thirty-six  head  of  horses 
including  two  black  mules ;  also,  that  a  man  wear 
ing  a  long  red  coat  and  carrying  a  bow,  arrows, 
and  revolver,  will  be  killed/  ''' 

The  party  went  without  delay  into  the  enemy's 
country.  They  soon  saw  a  man  who  wore  a  long 
red  coat  and  who  carried  a  bow,  arrows,  and  re 
volver,  driving  to  pasture,  directly  towards  them, 
and  a  herd  of  horses,  including  two  black  mules. 
As  he  belonged  to  the  enemy,  they  killed  him, 
jumped  on  the  horses  and  rode  away. 

The  following  story  in  regard  to  calling  forth 
spirits  is  told  by  Joshua  Low  Dog.  The  Uncpa- 
pas,  or  Sitting  Bull's  people  (a  branch  of  the 
Sioux),  started  out,  on  one  occasion,  to  fight  the 
Crow  Indians.  The  latter  came  upon  them  un 
expectedly,  chased  them,  and  killed  twelve  of  their 
number.  When  this  news  was  brought  to  the 
Uncpapas  by  the  rest  of  the  party,  the  whole  tribe 
put  on  mourning.  They  felt  that  something  must 
be  done  at  once.  They  visited  one  of  their 


92  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

prophets  and  asked  him  to  find  out  where  the 
Crow  Indians  were.  While  the  prophet  went 
through  the  performance  of  calling  upon  the 
spirits,  the  Uncpapas  all  seated  themselves  on  the 
ground,  with  bowed  heads,  took  their  pipes  and 
held  them  by  the  bowls  with  the  stems  pointing 
straight  outward,  and  begged  the  "sacred  ones" 
or  "gifted  men"  to  help  the  prophet.  After  this, 
the  latter  sang  a  song  according  to  the  spirit,  and 
the  other  men  turned  their  pipes  around  and 
smoked.  He  told  them  where  the  Crow  Indians 
were,  and  just  how  many  of  them  would  be  killed : 

THEY   SING  A  PRAYER.  ODOWAN  WAN  AHIYAYAPI. 

When  I  call  to  the  above  Wankatakiyi  hoyewaya  can 

I  sing  for  a  Spirit,  Nagi-Ksapa  e  wakidowanye. 

I  sing  for  him  to  come  to  Wakidowan    canhan    tiyata 

me!  hi! 

Finally  a  party,  including  the  prophet,  and  led 
by  Low  Dog,  himself  one  of  the  "sacred  men", 
went  forward,  mounted  on  horses,  attacked  and 
fought  the  Crow  Indians,  and  killed  twenty-five  of 
them. 

In  those  days  the  men  that  Low  Dog  killed 
and  scalped  in  war  weighed  heavily  on  his  mind. 
He  saw  them  in  his  dreams.  He  is  now  baptized 
and  a  good  Christian,  and  this  change  of  heart  has 
given  him — 

"A  peace  above  all  earthly  dignities, 
A  still  and  quiet  conscience." 


COMMUNICATING  WITH  SPIRITS  93 

In  a  former  chapter,  reference  has  been  made 
to  honoring  boys;  but  in  connection  with  "the 
spirit  of  the  buffalo"  there  was  a  special  way  of 
showing  them  distinction.  A  boy  belonging  to 
one  of  the  best  families  in  camp  was  called  to  the 
middle  tent,  or  place  of  honor,  in  which  the  lead 
ing  people  lived.  The  principal  man  then  asked 
him  to  go  out  and  hunt  buffalo.  Perhaps  five  or 
six  others  were  sent  with  him,  but  he  was  ap 
pointed  as  leader.  They  went  through  all  the  sur 
rounding  country.  As  they  returned  towards 
camp,  and  were  as  much  as  five  miles  away,  they 
flashed  a  mirror.  If  they  had  no  mirror  and 
happened  to  be  on  a  high  butte  or  hill,  they  made 
one  of  the  party  ride  up  and  down  so  as  to  be 
plainly  seen.  All  this  meant  that  they  were 
bringing  good  news.  Then  the  people  in  the 
middle  tent  began  to  sing  gaily  the  song  of  the 
wolves  (Wolf  Society)  : 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

"Friend,  behold  me!  Koda,  wanmayakeye 

I  am  the  man  who  looks  Sumka  wakita  qon 

As     the     wolves     look     at  Miye  yedo! 
things!" 

It  sometimes  happened  that  two  or  three  of 
those  who  went  out  with  the  boy  leader,  deter 
mined  to  go  on  ahead  and  tell  the  people  they  had 
seen  buffalo.  When  they  reached  camp  they 
were  not  received  by  the  older  men.  The  honored 
boy  had  to  appear  first,  and  tell  them  the  exact 
truth. 


94  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI    SAPA 

When  the  party  arrived,  either  on  horseback 
or  on  foot,  they  went  at  once  to  the  middle  tent. 
There  sat  the  leader,  with  possibly  as  many  as 
twelve  other  men  in  conclave  with  him ;  for  all 
the  good  men  had  to  be  present.  The  questioner, 
or  leading  man,  was  always  to  the  right  of  the 
boy.  He  then  said  to  him:  "You  know  all  the 
country;  where  did  you  go?  What  did  you  see 
beyond?"  Upon  this,  he  took  the  pipe  of  peace, 
pointed  it  to  heaven,  to  the  four  corners  of  the 
winds  and  to  the  earth,  and  handed  it  to  the  youth. 
The  latter  touched  it  with  his  lips  but  did  not 
smoke  it.  For  him  this  act  meant  an  oath.  He 
gave  it  back  to  the  leading  man,  who  smoked  it, 
and  passed  it  along  to  the  others.  The  time  had 
come  for  the  boy  leader  to  make  an  absolutely 
truthful  statement  of  what  he  had  seen  in  the  way 
of  buffalo.  He  was  about  to  point  with  his  fore 
finger  to  indicate  the  place,  but  was  told  to  use 
his  thumb  instead.  * 

The  boy  then  had  to  point  with  his  thumb  in 
three  directions,  in  front,  to  the  right,  and  to  the 
left,  and  was  obliged  to  tell  what  he  had  seen  in 
the  places  indicated.  Then  he  was  asked  if  he 
had  seen  some  other  things,  but  could  do  what  he 
pleased  about  relating  anything  more.  He  was 
compelled  to  answer  the  first  three  questions  only. 
He  had  brought  back  with  him  "the  spirit  of  the 
buffalo",  and  all  the  men  present  must  receive  it ; 

*  The  thumb  was  also  used,  and  is  now,  for  making  an 
impression  or  mark,  as  in  signing  a  paper  or  endorsing  a 
cheque. 


COMMUNICATING  WITH  SPIRITS  95 

then  they  will  be  successful  in  the  next  chase.  If 
there  was  a  bad  man  among  them  "the  spirit  of 
the  buffalo"  went  away,  for  it  could  not  remain 
where  evil  was  present.  The  boy  leader  was  sent 
out  again,  perhaps  several  times.  A  note  was 
made  of  the  first  time,  the  exact  day  being  re 
corded.  Perhaps  he  set  out  in  the  new  moon  of 
spring  or  the  full  moon  of  autumn ;  but  whenever 
he  went,  the  fact  of  his  going  was  preserved  by 
the  cutting  of  a  notch  on  a  heavy  stick  of  wood. 
He  may  have  had  the  misfortune  to  find 
nothing;  then,  on  his  return  to  camp,  he  was 
obliged  to  say:  "I  have  not  seen  a  buffalo,  or 
even  his  tracks,  anywhere."  In  that  case,  none  of 
the  performances  with  the  pipe  of  peace  took 
place ;  but  as  he  was  truthful  in  his  statement,  he 
was  likely  to  be  sent  out  again. 

Tipi  Sapa  was  well  acquainted  with  a  Yankton 
Dakota  Indian  named  Crazy  Walker.  When  the 
latter  was  about  twenty-four  years  old,  he  pre 
tended  to  be  a  buffalo  man,  and  was  supposed  to 
have  "the  spirit  of  the  buffalo".  He  went  into  the 
circle  carrying  a  buffalo  hide  with  the  skin  tanned. 
He  asked  two  young  girls  to  help  him  in  what  he 
was  about  to  do,  and  to  one  of  them  he  gave  a 
wooden  basin  with  some  water  in  it,  to  the  other, 
a  pipe.  The  water  in  the  bowl  signified  that  the 
buffalo  got  strength  from  water;  the  pipe,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  always  used  in  praying  to  the 
spirit,  just  as  the  man,  when  dragging  the  buf 
falo's  head,  turned  towards  it  every  little  while, 


96  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

with  the  pipe,  and  prayed  for  help.  Walker 
then  called  four  young  men  to  him,  one  of  them 
having  a  gun,  another  a  bow  and  arrows.  He 
asked  them  what  they  would  like  to  have  most, 
for  he  had  the  power  to  give  them  anything  they 
wanted;  and  they  all  said  that  they  wished  to 
get  married.  Having  put  on  his  buffalo  hide,  he 
went  over  to  a  plot  of  soft  ground  some  distance 
beyond  his  tipi,  and  made  buffalo  tracks  in  the 
soft  earth  so  that  the  people  could  see  them 
plainly.  He  then  got  down  on  his  hands  and 
knees,  and  cried  out  to  the  man  with  the  gun,  or 
the  one  with  the  bow  and  arrows,  whichever  he 
happened  to  see  first,  to  shoot  him  at  once.  The 
youth  obeyed  and  shot  him  directly  through  the 
body.  The  blood  flowing  out,  made  Walker  at 
first  seem  weak  and  faint;  though  after  a  while 
he  got  up  and  walked  away.  Many  people  did 
not  believe  he  had  been  shot  through  and 
through;  but  he  told  them  to  come  to  examine 
him  after  he  reached  his  tipi.  Then  he  took  some 
dirt  or  mud  from  the  ground,  rubbed  it  into  the 
wounds  and  healed  them.  Having  "the  spirit 
of  the  buffalo",  he  was  now  able  to  grant  any 
requests.  He  asked  the  four  young  men  if  they 
had  obtained  what  they  wanted.  They  an 
swered  :  "Yes,  we  have  seen  the  girls  we  should 
like  to  marry."  Walker  said:  "Will  you  keep 
them  until  they  die?",  and  made  them  promise 
faithfully  to  do  it.  The  last  one  of  these 
women  died  about  three  years  ago. 


CHAPTER  XL 
BUFFALO  HUNTING 

"The  Spirit  of  the  Buffalo"  Continued— Buffalo 
Hunting — Deer  Hunting 

HEN  TIPI  SAPA  was  a  little  boy,  he  actu 
ally  saw  a  spirit.  The  whole  band  of  Yank- 
tons  started  out  to  hunt  buffalo,  but  went  a  long 
way  and  found  none.  The  wind,  too,  was  un 
favorable.  It  was  from  the  south,  and  blowing 
behind  them  instead  of  towards  them ;  whereas  a 
north  wind  only  is  favorable  for  hunting  buffalo. 
They  resolved  to  select  a  man  who  would  call  up 
a  spirit  to  help  them  out  of  their  difficulty.  One 
young  man  named  Little  Brave  pretended  to  be 
a  spirit.  He  was  bedecked  with  paint  and 
feathers  and  had  a  drum  tied  to  one  arm  and 
rattles  on  the  other;  while  over  his  head  and 
face  was  the  skin  or  bag  which  covers  the  heart 
of  a  buffalo.  He  ran  hither  and  thither,  and  cried 
and  sang.  All  the  dogs  of  the  band  rushed  out 
and  barked  at  him,  but  were  afraid  to  come  near 
him.  He  told  the  people  that  the  wind  would 
turn  to  the  north  by  night,  and  that  there 


98  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIP1  SAP  A 

would  be  two  herds  of  buffalo  very  near  them. 
What  Little  Brave  predicted  proved  to  be 
true.  The  next  day  brought  them  two  herds 
of  buffalo,  right  at  hand,  and  no  end  of  fine 
hunting.  ^  .  tt 

There  were  two  special  ways  of  "doing 
peculiar  to  the  Sioux  Nation.  The  people  were 
all  hungry,  for  they  had  nothing  to  eat,  and 
no  prospect  of  anything.  *  There  was  a  man 
among  them  named  Little  Wooden  Dish,  who 
was  called  upon  and  was  requested  to  help  them. 
He  sang  and  prayed  and  went  through  several 
performances.  Then  he  told  the  people  that 
the  buffalo  would  come  with  a  big  blizzard, 
and  that  after  the  storm  was  over,  they 
would  be  thick  all  around  the  camp.  The 
people  waited  patiently  for  the  storm  to  cease. 
When  it  was  over,  they  looked  about,  and, 
surely  enough !  saw  the  buffalo  crowding  around 
so  thickly  that  they  could  shoot  them  from  their 

tipis!  .   . 

There  was  still  another  way  of  "doing  .  Tipi 
Sapa's  father,  Saswe,  a  famous  medicine  man 
among  the  Yankton  Sioux,  as  before  mentioned, 
was  in  camp  in  a  large  piece  of  timberland  near 
Skinner's  store,  just  beyond  the  Missouri  river. 
The  people  had  nothing  to  eat,  so  they  sought 

*  The  buffalo  was  the  principal  source  of  food  and  cloth 
ing  Others  were  deer,  rabbits,  prairie  chickens,  and  prairie  dogs 
The  last,  to  be  good,  had  to  be  well  washed  and  cleaned  and 
boiled  at  least  three  times.  The  fruits  used  were  buffalo-,  June-, 
and  chalk-berries,  and  wild  cherries,  plums,  and  apples. 


BUFFALO  HUNTING  99 

out  Saswe  and  begged  him  to  help  them.     He 
went  into  his  tipi  *  and  sang : 

SONG  OF  SASWE.  SASWE,  ODOWAN  KIN. 

"I  send  my  voice  upward,  Tohand    pteatan    wau    cau- 

Telling  the  Good  Spirit  to  han  aliyeya  ecee  kin  dee, 

come  down;  Waukankiya  hoye  wayacan, 

So  he  comes  down  and  tells  Nari  ksapa  e  wakidowan  ye, 

me  Wakidowan    cauhan    tiyata 

What  I  want  (him  to  tell  hiye, 

me).  Na  taku  wau  waein  kin  he 

hosi  hi  ecer 

Then  he  called  the  people  and  said  to  them: 
"There  are  two  hills  near  a  place  named  Eureka, 
with  a  lake  lying  south  of  them.  There  will  be 
two  herds  of  buffalo  there,  coming  down  between 
the  hills.  If  you  want  to  get  them,  start  right 
away,  for  in  the  afternoon  a  big  blizzard  will 
come  up  and  seven  men  beyond  that  point  will 
be  frozen  to  death."  The  men  went  off  at  once, 
and,  exactly  according  to  the  words  of  Saswe, 
found  the  two  herds  of  buffalo.  They  killed  them 
and  brought  back  the  meat.  At  Cheyenne  Creek, 
off  to  the  south,  another  party  was  hunting  these 
same  buffalo,  and  seven  men  in  it  were  frozen 
to  death. 

The  following  was  an  Assiniboine  way  of 
"doing".  There  was  one  person  especially  among 
these  people  who  knew  something  about  a 
certain  kind  of  medicine.  He  gave  it  to  a  young 

*  It  was  by  praying  in  this  way  that  these  men  received 
power,  and  became  prophets  and  seers  among  their  people. 


100  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

man  who  was  a  good  runner,  and  said  to  him: 
"You  go  out  and  stand  on  that  hill"  (pointing 
in  the  direction)  "and  rub  some  of  this  medicine 
on  your  arms  and  body.  There  is  a  herd  of 
buffalo  near  the  hill,  and  they  will  see  you  and 
come  forward.  As  they  advance  towards  you, 
run,  but  do  not  let  them  overtake  you.  If  you  do, 
we  shall  lose  them.  When  you  can  run  fast  no 
longer,  hide;  and  another  man  must  be  on  the 
spot  to  begin  where  you  leave  off.  Then  he  must 
have  some  one  stationed  at  the  point  where  he 
leaves  off,  and  so  all  along  the  line."  The  young 
man  adopted  this  advice,  the  herd  followed  each 
runner,  and  was  brought  into  camp,  a  distance 
of  about  four  miles. 

As  we  have  seen,  each  band  of  Dakotas  had 
men  with  these  powers,  which  were  very  remark 
able,  and  seemed  like  some  sort  of  providence. 
Such  men  were  always  held  in  great  honor. 

When  the  men  in  the  middle  tent  had  news 
brought  to  them  about  buffalo  by  the  honored 
boys,  or  if,  in  any  way,  they  found  out  that  a 
herd  was  within  reach,  they  had  to  decide  upon 
the  time  for  the  hunt.  In  most  cases  it  was 
thought  better  to  start  at  once,  or  very  shortly. 
A  crier  was  sent  through  the  camp,  urging  all  the 
men  to  get  ready,  to  sharpen  their  arrows  and 
their  knives,  to  have  their  horses  saddled,  and  to 
assemble.  It  was  a  most  thrilling  sight,  and 
one  never  to  be  forgotten,  to  see  a  whole  band 
of  men  in  feathers  and  war  paint,  bearing  knives, 


Z  £ 

3 


H  -5 


*l 


I- 

OQ    P 


BUFFALO  HUNTING  101 


clubs,  bows,  and  arrows,  and  mounted  on  their 
lively,  knowing  little  horses,  rush  out  of  camp, 
to  the  beating  of  drums  and  the  singing  of  songs, 
for  a  wild  buffalo  chase. 

There  were  two  or  four  men,  sometimes  more, 
who  acted  as  leaders,  as  it  often  took  quite  a 
number  to  control  such  an  excited  crowd. 
Sometimes  a  few  women  were  allowed  to  go 
along;  either  because  they  wished  to,  or  on  ac 
count  of  their  being  needed  to  help  with  the  meat 
and  the  hides.  When  the  band  reached  the  place 
where  the  herd  of  buffalo  were  grazing,  the 
leaders  called  a  halt.  Then  they  looked  about 
and  chose  the  ground  from  which  to  start.  They 
divided  up  the  men,  placing  some  on  the  right 
and  the  others  on  the  left.  If  anyone  happened 
to  go  ahead  and  make  a  run  towards  the  buffalo, 
or  if  he  disobeyed  orders  in  any  way,  he  was 
severely  whipped  and  driven  back.  On  these  oc 
casions  obedience  was  insisted  upon.  No  man 
was  allowed  to  shoot  at  anything,  the  use  of  a 
gun*  being  especially  forbidden.  Any  infraction 
of  this  rule  was  followed  by  a  sound  beating  and 
often  by  the  destruction  of  the  offender's  tipi. 
When  the  signal  was  given  by  the  leaders,  it  was 
time  for  the  men  to  rush  forward  upon  their  prey. 
The  buffalo  saw  them  coming,  but  at  first  made 
no  attempt  to  run.  They  stood  quietly,  as 
if  dazed,  looking  straight  at  the  enemy.  Then, 
all  of  a  sudden,  the  whole  herd  turned  tail  and 

*  On  account  of  the  noise. 


1  02     £  i  !  /  flhfe;  F?felO  LE  .OF  TIPI  SAPA 


ran,  with  the  Indians  in  hot  pursuit.  They  did 
not  stop  the  chase  till  every  buffalo  was  killed. 
It  was  magnificent  sport  and  most  exciting. 
Sometimes  a  buffalo,  driven  to  fury,  turned  and 
charged,  killing  one  or  more  men. 

A  number  of  extra  horses  were  always  brought 
along   and  left  behind   on  the  plain   or   in   the 
valley,  till  needed.     At  the  close  of  the  hunt  the 
meat  and  hides  were  loaded  on  them,  and  the 
whole  party   returned   to  camp.     The   old   men 
who  had  no  horses  and  were  no  longer  able  to 
hunt,  were  each  presented  with  a  buffalo,  by  the 
younger  men.     Those  who  received  them  were 
very  grateful,  and  sang  pleasing  songs  about  the 
hunters  who  were  kind  to  them.     The  women 
were  kept  very  busy  with  jerking  and  drying  the 
beef.     If  there  were  not  a  sufficient  quantity,  all 
started  off  again  to  the  scene  of  slaughter,  got 
more  meat,  brought  it  back,  and  prepared  it.    The 
night  after  a  good  hunt  was  most  agreeable.     The 
men  sat  outside  of  their  tipis,  watched  the  meat 
roasting  over  the  blazing  fires,  then  ate  to  the  full 
the  sweet  delicious  food.     What  remained  was 
taken  down  below  the  hills  and  stored  away  for 
future  use.     Large  holes  were  dug  in  the  sides  of 
the  hills  and  in  them,  wrapped  in  the  great  hides, 
were  placed  the  backs   and  other  parts  of  the 
carcases  ;  then  the  openings  to  the  cavities  were 
carefully   filled    up    with    earth.      The   meat,   in 
this  way,  was  well  preserved,  and  when  used 
later  on,  was  sweet  and  good. 


BUFFALO  HUNTING  103 

The  days  of  the  buffalo-chase  are  past  and 
gone.  Nothing  was  more  exciting,  exhilarating, 
and  charming  to  the  Indian  than  hunting  the 
buffalo  and  feasting  on  the  flesh.  Tipi  Sapa 
said  to  me :  "I  have  a  terrible  longing  for  it. 
You  white  people  have  come  and  have  taken  it 
all  away  from  us,  and  expect  us  to  follow  your 
ways.  It  is  very  hard  for  a  people  to  change 
their  whole  mode  of  life.  Now,  we  just  sit  around 
in  camp  and  talk  back  and  forth.  There  is 
nothing  to  do  in  the  way  of  amusement,  and  no 
fun  for  anybody!"  How  sad  and  how  true  it 
all  is! 

When  no  buffalo  were  to  be  found  anywhere 
the  fact  still  remained  that  the  people  must  have 
something  to  eat.  A  certain  young  man,  who 
seemed  to  have  wonderful  power,  and  possessed 
"the  spirit  of  the  deer"  as  others  did  "the  spirit 
of  the  buffalo",  was  chosen  to  call  the  deer  to 
him.  He  selected  a  high,  level  place,  and  at  one 
end  where  it  sloped  down,  ordered  a  corral  to  be 
built.  Heaps  of  earth  were  placed  at  intervals 
along  two  lines  which  formed  the  letter  V,  the 
point  being  at  the  corral.  Between  each  of  these 
heaps  of  earth  were  willow  twigs  sharpened  at 
either  end,  and  bent  or  curved  by  having  both 
ends  stuck  into  the  ground.  The  young  man, 
after  painting  himself  in  different  colors,  wrapped 
his  buffalo  hide  around  him  with  the  fur  outside 
and  stood  on  the  high,  level  piece  of  ground.  He 
held  a  pipe  of  peace  in  his  hand,  which  he  pointed 


104  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

towards  heaven,  to  the  four  corners  of  the  winds, 
and  to  the  earth.  Then  he  yelled  out  four  times, 
and  sang,  over  and  over  again : 

"See,  those  deer  are  coming  now!" 

True  enough,  a  whole  herd  of  deer  came 
galloping  by,  and  went  straight  down  the  avenue 
into  the  corral.  This  was  followed  by  another 
herd,  and  another,  until  the  entire  corral  was 
filled  with  the  frightened  animals.  Then  the 
people,  who  had  been  in  hiding,  rushed  out  and 
killed  them  with  clubs.  (Tipi  Sapa's  father  saw 
this  done,  and  declared  it  to  be  true.) 

After  the  deer  had  been  slaughtered,  not  one 
remaining  alive,  but  before  they  were  skinned 
and  the  meat  cut  up  and  made  ready  for  use,  the 
young  man  told  the  people  to  take  all  the  males 
and  arrange  them  in  rows  by  themselves,  and  the 
females  in  rows  by  themselves.     When  this  was 
done,  they  were  obliged  to  cut  off  the  tip  end  of 
the  tongue  of  each  deer  and  give  them  all  to  him. 
If  just  one  were  overlooked,  it  would  cause  him 
to  lose  his  power,  so  he  went  around  and  ex 
amined  each  animal  with  great  care.     He  kept 
the  ends  of  the  tongues,  dried  them,  and  made  a 
powder  of  them.     This  powder  he  mixed  with 
another  medicine  made  of  some  kind  of  roots, 
then  put  it  in  a  little  bag  and  tied  it  in  his  head 
dress  of  feathers.     The  only  occasion  on  which  he 
wore  the  little  bag  was  when  he  went  out  to  call 
the  deer. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
SOCIETIES 

Doings  Inside  the  Circle— The  Society  of  Braves 
—The  Society  of  Owls'  Feathers— The 
Society  of  Foxes— The  Grass  Society 

AMONG  the  men  in  the  Circle  were  many 
societies,  and  those  who  did  not  belong  to 
some  one  of  the  different  groups  had  no  stand 
ing  whatever.  They  were  somewhat  alike  in 
their  offices  and  duties.  The  Society  of  Braves 
— Cante  Tinza  Okadaicize— held  a  large  meeting 
every  year  in  the  middle  tent.  Seven  principal 
men  represented  this  society,  and  there  were  be 
sides,  a  doorkeeper  and  a  crier.  The  last  pro 
claimed  a  dance,  a  feast,  or  any  other  doings. 
The  seven  chief  officers  gave  their  decision  as  to 
new  members  and  sent  men  through  the  camp 
to  pick  them  up.  If  the  young  men  desired 
were  found  in  their  tipis  they  were  taken  by  the 
arm  and  brought  out.  Four  or  six  girls  of  fine 
character  were  selected  in  the  same  way  to  help 
with  the  singing.  All  went  in  procession,  with 
song,  to  the  place  of  meeting,  where  they  were 
received  by  the  seven  principal  men.  The  new 


106  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

members  were  presented  with  various  articles. 
Two  were  given  bonnets,  with  feathers  so  ar 
ranged  as  to  reach  to  the  ground,  two  received 
whips,  two  others  clubs,  and  one,  a  drum.  Then 
the  officers  talked  to  them,  and  related  what  they 
had  done  with  these  same  things.  Each  new 
member  was  compelled  to  live  up  to  the  high 
standard  of  the  society.  He  had  to  be  generous 
and  good,  give  horses  to  the  poor,  to  the  orphans, 
and  to  the  old  people,  and  to  be  pure  and  true. 
If  it  were  found  out  that  one  of  them  had  done 
wrong  —  such  as  going  off  with  the  wife  of 
another  man — he  was  dropped  from  the  Society. 
Above  all  else,  each  one  must  be  brave,  go  out 
to  fight,  and  probably  lose  his  life. 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

One  of  the  members  does  not      Opapi  kin  etanhan 
return  home  alive.  Wanjj  kdi  Sni. 

The  Society  of  Owls'  Feathers  —  Mawatani 
Okadakiciye— like  that  of  the  Braves,  had  seven 
chief  officers,  a  doorkeeper,  and  a  crier.  It  was 
composed  of  older  and  more  experienced  men  of 
a  very  high  order.  The  members  wore  plumes 
of  owls'  feathers  in  their  hair.  They  made  these 
plumes  by  taking  the  long  feathers  from  the 
wing  (arm)  or  tail  of  the  owl,  pulling  off  the 
little  webs  from  the  middle  stem,  and  tying  them 
in  bunches  on  sticks.  Two  of  the  seven  principal 
men  had  bonnets  made  of  owls'  feathers,  two 
others  had  spears,  two  had  whips,  and  one  a  drum. 


SOCIETIES  107 

They  held  office  twelve  months  at  a  time,  and 
if  they  had  done  well,  were  re-elected.  New 
members  were  chosen  after  the  same  manner  as 
in  the  Society  of  Braves,  and  also  the  few  young 
women  who  helped  with  the  singing.  The  fol 
lowing  song  was  sung  by  two  men  as  the  new 
members  were  marched  to  the  middle  tent : 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

I  hear  there  are  hard  things  Wicoran  qeya  terikedo 

to  be  accomplished.  Eyapi  e  hena  awakita  yedo. 
I  seek  them. 

When  the  time  had  come  for  the  election  of 
officers,  the  name  of  a  new  member  was  called. 
He  was  told  to  stand  at  some  distance  until  asked 
to  go  forward  by  one  of  the  leading  men.  Then 
another  man  placed  a  coal  of  fire  in  his  hand. 
With  this  he  was  obliged  to  walk  slowly  and 
steadily  toward  the  officer,  who  was  to  present 
him  with  a  war-bonnet,  spear,  or  whip,  and  so 
did  each  one  in  turn.  When  the  new  members 
had  received  their  respective  belongings,  they 
were  addressed  by  the  former  officers.  It  was 
expected  of  them  to  maintain  the  high  moral 
standard  of  the  society.  They  were  never  to 
scold  or  whip  their  wives,  as  anything  of  that 
kind  was  an  indication  of  weakness.  If  they 
lowered  themselves  to  fight  with  women  they 
were  just  like  them.  Should  the  wife  of  one  of 
these  men  run  away  with  someone  else,  her  hus 
band  was  not  to  go  after  her  to  bring  her  back. 


108  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

She  was  to  be  left  alone,  as  her  character  was 
gone,  and  she  could  never  again  take  her  former 
place  in  the  circle.  When  it  happened  that  the 
wife  of  a  member  of  this  society  did  run  off  with 
another  man,  but  came  back  of  her  own  accord, 
her  husband  had  to  receive  her  and  treat  her 
kindly,  as  before.  This  was  the  song  that  was 
sung  by  a  man  when  his  wife  left  him. 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 
My    daughter's     (or    son's)       Micunksi  (nais  micin  ksi) 

mother  Hunjuako  eyaya  yo, 

Goes  away  from  me.  Nanjenunna  warm  we! 

I  have  but  a  short  time  to 
live. 

SECOND  SONG.  ODOWAN    INONPA   KIN. 

You  will  never  be  buried  Tukted  nunke  cinhan 

With  your  wife's  body;  Kici  nunkin  kte  sni 

Only  dogs  fight   over  a   fe-  Sunka  ecena  win  okicize  cin 

male;  Winica  yedo. 
You  are  a  man. 

This  song  was  a  curse  upon  the  woman  who 
ran  away.  The  man  was  far  better  than  a  dog, 
and  not  supposed  to  fight  with  the  wretch  who 
went  with  her.  Only  dogs  got  mad  and  fought. 
The  afflicted  husband  was  marched  in  procession 
around  the  circle  while  the  songs  were  sung. 
All  this  was  intended  to  give  him  strength  and 
comfort  to  lighten  his  burden  and  relieve  his 
distress. 

The  members  of  the  Society  of  Owls'  Feathers 
were  supposed  to  give  liberally  to  the  poor,  the 
aged,  and  the  orphans.  As  we  have  seen,  they 


SOCIETIES  109 

were  most  enduring  in  hardships.  They  had  to 
go  out  and  fight,  and  do  everything  in  their 
power  outside  the  Circle  for  the  welfare  and 
advancement  of  the  tribe.  The  newly  elected 
officer  sang: 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

See  me!     I  am  trying  Mawatani   okodakiciye  kin 

To  follow  the  teachings  of  the  Hecel  eyapi  e, 

Society  of  Owls'  Feathers.  Econ  uwata  nunwe. 

Because  I  do  not  want  Icin  wicarcapi  kin  he 

To  reach  old  age.  Tamon  ka  sni  yedo. 

A  big  dinner  or  feast  was  held  at  the  annual 
meeting,  followed  by  a  dance,  so  as  to  give  the 
people  the  opportunity  of  getting  acquainted 
with  the  new  members. 

Another  group  was  called  the  Society  of 
Foxes.  The  members  wore  their  hair  in  a  very 
peculiar  manner.  The  hair  was  pulled  out  by  the 
roots,  leaving  the  scalp  bare,  except  in  patches  or 
tufts  in  front,  on  either  side,  and  in  the  middle. 
The  last  was  allowed  to  grow  very  long  so  that 
it  could  be  braided  to  hang  down  the  back. 
Ornaments  consisting  of  two  sticks,  each  about 
a  foot  in  length,  with  bright  red  feathers  glued 
on  them,  were  worn  in  the  hair  at  the  top  of  the 
braid.  The  long  locks  of  hair  on  either  side  of 
the  head  were  drawn  through  a  cylinder  of  bone 
that  had  been  cleaned  thoroughly  within  and 
without.  Below,  where  the  hair  came  through, 
they  were  decorated  with  weasels'  skins.  Orna 
ments  were  made  of  the  heads  of  foxes,  the  faces 


110  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

only  being  used,  from  which  the  skin  was  pulled 
off  so  that  the  bones  and  teeth  showed  plainly. 
These,  painted  red  or  blue,  were  fastened  in  rows 
on  buckskin  or  some  kind  of  leather  bands,  and 
worn  around  the  forehead  in  the  dance. 

The  Society  of  Foxes  was  conducted  in  much 
the  same  way  as  those  of  the  Braves  and  the 
Owls'  Feathers.  At  the  yearly  meeting,  the  offi 
cers  sat  in  the  place  prepared  for  them  in  the 
middle  of  the  circle,  and  the  new  members,  with  a 
few  women,  were  gathered  together  and  marched 
into  their  presence  with  singing,  as  follows : 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

My  friend  has  passed  his  life      Mitakoda  taku  econ 

doing  his  duty  before  me;       Kta  iyececa  kin  econ 
So  I  will  follow  him.  Unmitokam  iyaya  e 

Ehakenan  waun  we! 

When  they  were  seated  they  were  called  for 
ward  by  the  principal  men  and  presented  with 
the  marks  of  office.  Two  received  bows  with  no 
strings,  but  trimmed  with  bead  work  and  porcu 
pine  quills.  These  bows  had  also  spearheads 
fastened  on  one  end,  and  were  used  as  weapons. 
Two  others  had  pipes  of  peace  given  them,  two 
more  received  whips,  and  another  a  drum.  If  the 
former  office-holders  were  re-elected,  they  re 
ceived  the  same  articles  again.  The  doorkeeper 
and  crier  had  no  marks  of  office.  After  this,  the 
new  men  were  instructed  in  their  duties.  They 
were  obliged  to  be  liberal  and  very  brave.  They 
had  to  do  everything  possible  outside  for  the 


SOCIETIES  1 1 I 

welfare  of  the  Circle.  If  they  failed  in  their 
duties,  within  or  without,  they  were  dropped 
from  the  society 

There  was  still  another  group  called  the  Grass 
Society  of  which  the  members  were  all  warriors. 
They  placed  dried  grass  in  their  moccasins  to  keep 
their  feet  warm,  and  carried  it  in  their  clothing, 
to  be  used  when  they  wanted  to  build  a  fire 
quickly.  They  wore  their  hair  cut  off  on  either 
side,  straight  back  to  the  middle  part,  which  was 
left  long  for  the  braid.  Added  to  the  braid  was 
another  fastened  in  at  the  end,  so  as  to  make  it 
of  great  length.  At  the  top  were  fastened  vari 
ous  small  objects,  such  as  the  tail  of  a  deer,  dyed 
red,  and  eagles'  feathers,  one,  two,  three,  or  four, 
according  to  the  number  of  men  killed  by  the 
warrior.  Sometimes  they  were  so  numerous 
that  these  feathers  were  stuck  in  the  braid  as 
well,  and  often  extended  through  the  whole 
length  of  it  to  the  ground.  In  some  cases  a  spear 
with  its  head  painted  red  was  carried  and  on 
the  end  of  it  were  tied  three  or  more  feathers, 
according  to  the  number  of  enemies  the  owner 
had  killed.  If  he  himself  had  been  wounded,  he 
wore  eagles'  feathers  colored  red.  (Fiji  mikunaka 
okola  keciye.)  Other  "wearings"  belonging  to 
this  society  were  necklaces  and  earrings ;  and  the 
scalps  that  had  been  taken  were  worn  on  the  arm 
in  the  dance.  When  these  men  prepared  for  a 
dance,  they  painted  their  whole  bodies,  usually, 
of  a  yellow  color.  If  one  of  them  had  stolen 


112  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIP1  SAP  A 

horses  he  showed  the  prints  of  hoofs  on  his  legs. 
If  he  had  saved  a  man  from  being  killed  by  the 
enemy,  he  made  the  mark  of  a  cross  on  his  body 
or  legs.  When  he  had  been  wounded  by  a  bullet, 
he  represented  bullet  holes,  with  drops  of  blood 
coming  out  of  them.  If  one  had  teen  terribly 
wounded,  he  put  the  red  paint  on  thick  around 
his  mouth  and  chin,  to  show  that  the  blood  had 
poured  from  his  mouth  and  down  in  the  front. 
The  way  in  which  their  enemies  had  been  killed, 
whether  by  an  arrow,  a  gun,  a  club,  a  spear,  or  a 
knife,  was  clearly  depicted  on  the  chests  of  the 
horses  which  were  ridden  into  the  dance.  Some 
times  all  the  wounded  men  danced  together,  and 
had  a  special  song : 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

My  friend  has  fallen,  Mitakoda  kdirpayedo 

He  has  fallen  in  battle.  Heciya!  kdirpayedo! 

The  men  who  had  captured  slaves  (prisoners) 
and  brought  them  home  were  painted  with  a 
mark  that  represented  a  black  hand  over  the 
mouth.  This  was  to  show  that  they  had  done 
the  deed.  They  danced  by  themselves  and  also 
had  a  special  song. 

SONG   (ABOUT  SLAVES).  ODOWAN    (WAYAKA   ON). 

Friends,   I  let  these  slaves      Koda,    wayaka   dena   mani- 

walk,  wica  wakiya, 

I  let  them  walk  in  front  of      Mitokam  mani  wica  wakiya ; 
me .  Sicaya  wicawakuwa  sni  yedo. 

But    I    do    not   treat   them      Ikceya  mitokam  mani  wica 

roughly,  wakiya. 

I  just  let  them  walk  ahead 
of  me. 


SOCIETIES  113 

The  members  of  the  Grass  Society  were 
chosen  as  they  were  in  the  other  societies.  At 
the  place  of  meeting,  when  the  time  had  come  for 
the  yearly  election  of  new  officers,  two  men  were 
asked  to  bring  them  forward,  and  sang  the  follow 
ing  song: 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

Spotted    Eagle,    you    are  a      Wanbdi  kde6  ka  wica  yedo. 

man.  Niyaon  qon  he  ehan, 

While  you  were  living  Wandgi  wan  iyecedya 

You  acted  as  though  Yaun  wedo. 

You  were  a  ghost. 

Spotted  Eagle,  the  son  of  Red  Leaves,  was  a 
well-known  man  among  the  Dakotas.  The  term, 
"acting  as  though  he  were  a  ghost",  meant  that 
he  was  bold  and  brave  and  did  many  daring 
things. 

The  seven  principal  men  of  the  Grass  Society 
were  supposed  to  tell  at  the  annual  meeting  any 
brave  deeds  that  they  had  done  during  the  year, 
and  then  to  hand  over  the  articles  belonging  to 
their  office.  Five  of  them  had  belts  made  of 
crows'  feathers,  one  a  drum,  and  one  a  stick  about 
eighteen  inches  in  length  trimmed  with  porcupine 
quills.  There  were,  as  well,  a  doorkeeper  and  a 
crier.  When  a  feast  was  held,  all  the  officers  were 
fed  by  the  man  with  the  stick.  He  picked  up  the 
meat,  or  whatever  it  happened  to  be,  on  the  end 
of  it,  and  put  this  food  in  their  mouths;  thus 
signifying  that  being  so  fed,  they  should  not  fall 
into  any  bad  habit.  Everyone  of  them  was  sup- 


114  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

posed  to  have  killed  one  or  more  men.  On  re 
turning  from  a  raid,  the  brave  washed  himself, 
and,  for  several  days,  was  fed  on  "took"  food  with 
the  official  stick.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  upon 
his  return,  he  slandered  his  neighbors  or  com 
mitted  other  offences,  or  omitted  to  bathe  or  to 
feed  himself  as  prescribed  for  the  allotted  period, 
then,  it  was  held,  he  would  never  be  able  to  rid 
himself  of  the  bad  habit  of  evil  speaking  or  of  any 
other  wrongdoing.  The  members  of  this  group 
were  subject  to  various  acts  of  self-denial.  Any 
sign  of  weakness  on  the  part  of  a  man  whose 
wife  had  left  him,  shown  in  following  her  and 
inducing  her  to  return  to  him,  was  punished  by 
dismissal  from  the  society.  He  had  failed  to  do 
the  difficult  thing. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
SOCIETIES  (Continued) 

The   Crow   Society  — The  Wolf   Society  — The 
Society  of  Warriors — The  Horse  Dancers 

SESIDE  the  groups  treated  of  in  the  last 
chapter,  there  were  several  others,  one  of 
them  being  the  Crow  Society — Kanyi  yuha  okola 
kick  ye.  The  members  wore  the  skins  of  crows 
with  all  the  feathers  on,  as  necklaces.  Two  of  the 
seven  principal  men  had  war-bonnets.  These 
resembled  caps  or  hats  without  brims,  covered 
with  long  crows*  feathers.  Two  horns  stood  up 
on  either  side,  decorated  with  beads  and  porcu 
pine  quills.  Standing  between  the  horns  and 
covering  the  top  of  the  hat,  were  tufts  or  bunches 
of  horsehair  taken  from  the  mane  or  tail  and 
dyed  a  bright  red.  Such  war-bonnets  were  very 
showy  affairs.  Two  of  the  members  had  lances, 
which  were  trimmed  throughout  their  entire 
length  with  crows'  feathers.  Two  others  had 
whips ;  and  one,  a  drum,  all  of  which  were  deco 
rated  in  the  same  manner.  The  doorkeeper  and 
the  crier  carried  nothing  peculiar  to  their  re 
spective  offices. 


116  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A ^ 

This  society  was  conducted  in  the  same  way 
as  the  others,  the  new  members  being  collected 
and  brought  to  the  place  of  meeting  with  song, 
four  or  six  women  helping  with  the  singing. 
gONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

(There  are  no  words.)  (Zel  el  wiceiye  wanica.) 

When  all  were  assembled,  the  older  men  in 
structed  the  new  officers.  One  of  the  men  held 
his  war-bonnet  aloft,  and  told  how  he  had  tried 
to  live  up  to  all  that  it  represented ;  what  he  had 
done  in  war,  the  number  of  men  he  had  killed, 
and  in  what  way  he  had  killed  them.  At  this 
point,  his  sister  or  cousin  burst  into  a  song,  the 
burden  of  which  was : 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

Equivalent  to  Saul  koktopawinge 

Saul    has    killed    his    thou-  David    kokto    pawinge    kte, 

sands  wikcemna 

David  his  tens  of  thousands.  Li,  Li,  Li,  Li,  Li,  Li! 
Li,  Li,  Li,  Li,  Li,  Li ! 

The  women  sang  "praisings"  for  the  noble 
deeds  of  the  braves.  After  this,  the  bonnet  was 
handed  over  to  a  new  officer.  If  an  owner  of  one 
of  the  bonnets  had  been  killed  while  fighting,  he 
was  represented  by  another  man,  who  told  just 
how  he  died,  whether  slain  with  spear,  lance,  ar 
row,  or  knife,  and,  most  important  of  all,  how  he 
had  made  no  outcry  in  his  agony.  The  war- 
bonnet  was  always  taken  at  once,  if  possible,  from 
the  man  who  had  been  killed,  so  that  it  should  not 


SOCIETIES  117 

fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  was  care 
fully  brought  back  to  camp. 

The  same  forms  were  observed  when  the  other 
principal  men  handed  over  their  lances,  drum, 
and  whips.  The  last  were  used  heavily  on  the 
enemy  in  battle,  and  were  also  applied  to  slow, 
lazy  members  in  the  Circle  who  were  wanted  to 
take  part  in  the  dance. 

The  retiring  officers  talked  a  long  time  to  those 
taking  their  places.  Again  we  find  the  same  ad 
vice  given  to  a  husband  abandoned  by  his  wife: 
"If  that  should  happen  to  you,  do  not  go  after  her. 
Leave  her  alone,  and  do  not  fight  over  her;  she 
can  never  again  be  good.  Do  not  whip  your  wife. 
A  woman  is  weak,  and  if  you  whip  her,  you  will 
be  just  like  her.  It  is  mean  and  low."  (The 
speaker  referred  to  the  men  in  the  tribe  who  did 
not  belong  to  any  of  these  societies  —  the  very 
lowest  class,  who  whipped  their  wives  and  did  as 
they  pleased.)  "You  must  uphold  the  Circle ;  do 
everything  for  its  honor  within,  and  be  brave 
without  in  defending  it  from  its  enemies." 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting  a  dance  always 
took  place.  Those  who  participated  removed  all 
their  clothing  except  the  crow-feather  necklaces, 
and,  riding  wildly  into  the  dance,  leaped  from 
their  horses  amidst  a  din  of  gun  and  pistol  fire. 
Mounting  again  with  reckless  speed,  they  dashed 
away  to  some  other  point  at  which  the  same  per 
formances  were  repeated.  Altogether,  such  a 
dance  was  a  very  wild  and  exciting  affair. 


1  18  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A  _  _ 

Of  the  seven  principal  men  in  the  Wolf  Society 
—  Sunka  Okolakiciye—  four  had  wolf-skins,  two 
had  whips  with  the  handles  bound  with  wolf 
skin,  and  one  a  drum.  The  doorkeeper  and  the 
crier  had  nothing  official.  Those  who  received 
the  skins  wore  them,  and  added  a  bunch  of  crow- 
feathers,  fastened  on  just  below  the  nape  of  the 
neck.  The  members  of  this  society  travelled  on 
foot,  one  man  carrying  the  moccasins  of  the  whole 
company  in  big  bunches  on  each  hip,  while  others 
carried  the  food  in  kettles.  When  they  were 
about  to  go  on  the  warpath,  they  all  assembled  in 
the  middle  of  the  Circle,  and  sang  the  following 
songs  :  (The  name  of  the  leader  may  have  been 
Sitting  Bear.) 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

Sitting  Bear,  if  you  see  any-  Mato  iyotanke,  taku 

thing  Wandake  cinhan  kiyena  da 

You  must  go  close  to  it!  unnwe. 

SONG  (  2  )  .  ODOWAN  KIN  (  2  )  . 

Friends,  look  at  me!  Koda,  wanmayake, 

I   am   seeking   as   the  wolf  Sunke  wakita  qon  miye  yelo  ! 
seeks! 

SONG  (3).  ODOWAN  KIN    (3). 

I  do  not  want  to  pay  any  Wioyuspapi  kin 

attention  to  girls.  Waein  sni  yedo. 

I  must  go  and  do  my  duty  Tohantu  kesa  waku  kte  do 
first! 


An  incident  is  related,  doubtless  a  rare  one,  of 
one  member  of  such  a  war-party  becoming  faint 
hearted  and  actually  leaving  his  comrades  and 


SOCIETIES  119 


returning  to  camp.  The  others  went  forward, 
attacked  the  enemy,  and  brought  back  scalps  and 
horses. 

The  following  song  greeted  the  deserter : 

SONG.     (Sarcastic)    (4).  ODOWAN    KIN.    (Wiweca 

I  was  going  to  ( expected  to )  kmnp   ( 4 ) . 

do  those  things.  Ehanna  decamon  kta  e, 

So  I  sent  Weasel  Eagle  home  Hintonkasan  Wanbdi 

to  tell  you  about  it!  Ho6ikuwa«§i  qon! 

Those  who  belonged  to  the  Society  of  War 
riors — Zuya  Okodakiciye — were  very  experienced 
in  fighting  and  in  heroic  deeds.  Four  of  the  lead 
ing  men  had  skirts  made  of  buckskin  trimmed 
with  porcupine  quills ;  two  had  whips ;  and  one,  a 
drum.  The  doorkeeper  and  crier  had  no  dis 
tinctive  marks.  At  the  yearly  meeting,  as  in  the 
other  societies,  the  former  officers  related  what 
they  had  done.  In  case  any  one  of  them  had  been 
killed  during  the  year,  the  man  representing  him 
narrated  it,  then  took  the  shirt  that  had  belonged 
to  him  and  laid  it  carefully  aside.  It  was  the 
same  in  the  case  of  a  man  who  owned  one  of  the 
whips  or  the  drum.  They  then  sang,  as  follows : 

SONG.     (While    selecting  ODOWAN  KIN. 

officers).  TohandZuya    Okodakiciye 

Hereafter,  if  the  Society  of      Wica  wotinna  opapi 

Warriors  Owasin  opapi  nin  ecanipi 

Should  have  a  feast,  Kta  e£a  amakitapi  sni  yo! 

And  all  the  members 

are  expected  to  be  there, 
Do  not  look  for  me! 


120  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIP1  SAP  A 

The  new  members  had  it  impressed  upon  them 
that  if  they  did  something  inside  the  Circle  which 
they  should  not  have  done,  they  would,  after 
death,  be  punished  forever.  If  they  protected 
the  Circle  outside,  by  fighting,  they  would  be 
blessed  forever. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  in  subjecting 
their  sons  to  the  severe  training  and  discipline 
described  in  these  notes,  the  Sioux  fathers  were 
lacking  in  parental  affection.  On  the  contrary, 
the  fate  of  a  young  brave  on  the  warpath  was 
watched  by  his  father  with  the  utmost  solicitude. 
When  bad  news  came  and  a  runner  entered  camp 
with  the  cry,  "So-and-so's  son  lies  down  there," 
the  stricken  father  was  hard  put  to  it  to  conceal 
his  grief.  The  crisis  had  to  be  met  with  all  the 
stoical  calm  available,  but  it  was  no  less  over 
whelming.  On  such  occasions  the  following 
touching  lament  was  used,  but,  oddly  enough, 
even  the  lament  was  made  a  test  of  fortitude : 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

My  son,  you  went  off       .  Micink6i,    nankenunna, 

For  a  little  while;   you  are  Idade  ciqon,  tuwa 

staying  away  too  long!  DehauS  unka! 

This  was  supposed  to  be  repeated  four  times. 
A  father  might  get  through  the  song  once,  per 
haps,  but  nearly  every  one  failed  at  the  second 
attempt.  After  the  fourth  repetition  the  mourn 
ing  one  was  allowed  to  weep  but,  until  this  was 
finally  accomplished,  to  be  overpowered  by  nat- 


A  DAKOTA  WARRIOR 


SOCIETIES  121 


ural  grief  was  considered  deplorable  weakness. 
The  man  who  was  able  to  reach  the  fourth  time 
of  singing  praised  his  son's  courage,  as  follows : 

"Yes,  my  son,  you  did  well;  "Ho,  ems',  tanyan  ecanon 

You  did  your  duty.  Hecanon  kta  iyece  ca 

You  died  fighting;  Kicizapi  icunhan  nite, 

You  died  without  bringing  Is'  tedmayaye  6ni  nite 

disgrace  on  me;  Nitoyate   is'  tedwicayoye 

You  died  without  bringing  £ni  nite  do." 

disgrace  on  your  tribe." 

When  the  warriors  left  the  Circle,  they  were 
dressed  and  equipped  for  fighting.  They  were 
joined  by  members  of  the  other  groups  who  were 
ready  to  go  out.  It  was  a  glorious  sight  to  see 
them  gallop  forth  in  their  war  paint,  feathers  and 
glittering  weapons;  many  to  be  killed  and 
wounded,  others  to  return  bringing  home  scalps 
and  horses.  In  all  these  societies,  whoever  first 
killed  an  enemy  on  the  warpath,  secured  the 
honors.  Even  if  others  who  went  afterwards 
killed  a  great  many  more  than  the  first,  they  re 
ceived  little  credit.  Everyone  despised  a  society 
whose  members  had  killed  none  of  their  enemies. 
It  was  said  to  them :  "You  have  not  done  any 
thing;  you  are  disgraced!" 

Occasionally,  in  times  of  peace,  there  was  a 
parade  of  all  the  societies.  They  named  over  the 
braves  who  had  died  doing  their  duty,  to  an  ac 
companiment  of  drums  and  the  tuneless  shout, 

"Li!  Li!  Li!  Li!  Li!  Li!" 


122  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

The  following  incident  narrated  by  Tipi  Sapa 
illustrates,  in  a  certain  way,  the  large  part  which 
the  horse  plays  in  the  life  of  the  Dakotas. 

A  certain  man  in  the  tribe  who  had  been 
brought  up  with  horses  ever  since  he  was  a  baby, 
claimed  that  he  knew  everything  about  them.  He 
held  that,  having  lived  with  them  so  long,  he  was 
treated  by  them  as  one  of  themselves  and  had  had 
their  ways  revealed  to  him.  On  one  occasion  he 
called  the  men  who,  in  his  opinion,  had  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  horses,  to  a  meeting  in  some  place 
outside  of  camp,  and  addressed  them  as  follows : 

"Our  tribe  has  secret  powers.  They  have  been 
imparted  to  me  as  leader  of  the  horse-dance,  and 
come  directly  from  the  Great  Spirit.  I  will  make 
songs  for  you  to  learn,  and  you  must  practise  hard 
on  them.  I  should  also  like  you  to  be  prepared 
with  some  songs  of  your  own." 

Then  the  crier  was  told  to  go  through  camp 
and  proclaim:  "There  will  be  a  horse-dance 
to-morrow,  about  noon!" 

Those  who  were  to  take  part  in  the  dance 
were  directed  by  the  medicine  man  not  only  to 
paint  their  own  bodies,  but  to  depict,  on  their 
horses,  scenes  representing  exactly  what  had 
happened  in  the  last  fight,  when  they  were  in  the 
act  of  attacking  and  killing  the  enemy — marks  re 
sembling  hailstones,  for  example,  indicating  that 
the  last  battle  in  which  a  certain  brave  had  been 
engaged  had  been  fought  during  a  storm  of  hail. 
When  all  was  ready,  the  horse-dancers  put  on 


SOCIETIES  123 

their  war-bonnets  and  belts,  and  provided  them 
selves  with  shields,  lances,  spears,  knives,  whips, 
bows,  arrows,  and  guns.  Having  all  come  to 
gether  at  a  certain  point,  they  were  addressed  by 
the  leader,  who  told  them  that  they  would  not  be 
hurt  because  he  possessed  great  power  and  knew 
they  would  be  protected.  A  great  crowd  of  men, 
women,  and  children  assembled  for  the  occasion. 
At  this  affair,  only  young  girls  were  asked  to  sing ; 
no  married  women,  as  in  the  societies.  These 
girls  accompanied  the  drummers,  and  made  up, 
with  them,  a  kind  of  band  concert.  The  horses 
were  remarkably  graceful  in  their  movements,  as 
they  stepped  about  and  pranced  and  danced,  keep 
ing  time  to  the  music  of  the  songs  and  the  beating 
of  the  drums.  The  noise,  excitement,  and  wild- 
ness  grew  fast  and  furious  as  the  riders  fired  off 
their  guns,  shouted,  and  sped  their  arrows,  while 
the  horses  danced.  Sometimes  there  was  a  short 
intermission,  during  which  the  crier  went  about 
shouting :  "This  is  all  done  for  your  amusement. 
You  must  give  a  smoke  of  your  tobacco  or  some 
thing  else  to  these  people  after  all  their  trouble." 
The  moment  the  music  ceased  the  horses  all 
stopped  dancing,  and,  of  themselves,  turned 
directly  around  and  faced  the  band.  This  was 
most  remarkable,  for  many  of  them,  though  they 
had  heard  the  drums  in  battle,  had  never  before 
been  in  the  dance. 

During  the  next  intermission,  a  great  feast  was 
held.    Handsome  presents  of  war-bonnets,  horses, 


124  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

and  buffalo  robes  were  given  to  the  horsemen  and 
to  the  young  women  who  had  helped  with  the 
singing.  Then  the  wild  dance  began  again,  and 
kept  up  all  night,  or  until  the  supply  of  songs 
was  exhausted.  That  put  an  end  to  the  festivities. 
After  the  people  had  left  for  their  homes,  the  horse 
dancers  went  back  to  the  central  place  from  which 
they  started.  The  leading  man  who  conducted 
the  meeting  said :  "You  see  this  man  (meaning 
the  head  of  the  horse-dancers)  is  very  skilful  in 
the  dance,  and  that  no  bad  accident  has  happened. 
He  is  the  man  to  go  to  if  we  want  this  again.  If 
there  had  been  an  accident,  we  would  never  ask 
this  man  who  managed  it  to  do  it  a  second  time. 
We  will  have  only  the  one  who  knows  the  horses' 
ways.  He  is  very  kind  to  them.  No  matter  how 
wild  they  are,  they  obey  him  directly,  and  do 
whatever  he  wants  them  to  do.  He  must  be  well 
paid  for  all  the  skill  and  power  he  has  shown  and 
the  trouble  he  has  taken." 

Thus  the  meeting  of  the  horse-dancers  ad 
journed  for  a  much-needed  rest,  the  leader  no 
doubt  richer  in  reputation  as  well  as  in  more 
tangible  rewards. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
GAMES 

Shinny — Strike  the  Moccasins — Throwing  Sticks 

— Using  the  Balls — Secret  Play. 

(Huyoka  Wozepi) 

y?f  HE  Indians  were  fond  of  all  kinds  of  sport, 
\!f  and  enjoyed  games  of  a  mild  character  as 
well  as  those  that  were  more  thrilling  and  danger 
ous.  Of  the  numerous  games  played  by  them, 
only  a  few  are  given  by  way  of  illustration. 

Shinny  was  popular  and  both  men  and  women 
entered  into  the  contest.  Perhaps  as  many  as 
two  hundred  at  a  time  lined  up  for  this  sport,  the 
large  number  adding  greatly  to  the  mirth,  excite 
ment,  and  general  interest. 

The  game  called  "Strike  the  Moccasins",  or 
"Han  papa  econpi",  was  for  men  alone.  We  will 
suppose  that  two  parties  were  camping  two  or 
three  miles  apart,  and  one  sent  word  to  the  other, 
saying:  "Let  us  go  over  and  strike  the  mocca 
sins."  If  everything  seemed  favorable,  a  large 
tipi  was  prepared.  The  men  from  both  camps 
took  their  guns,  horns,  and  arrows  and  marched 


126  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

over  to  this  tipi  beating  drums  and  singing  as  they 
went  along : 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

Whatever  widows  make,  Wiwazica  taku 

Those  belong  to  me!  Kage  cin  hena  mita  waye! 

They  also  indulged  in  many  songs  without 
words,  a  great  waving  of  arms  and  various  wild 
gestures.  Then  they  went  into  the  tipi,  and  each 
party  took  one  side  of  it.  A  large  crowd  stood 
outside  and  lifted  up  the  canvas  in  order  to  see  the 
game.  In  winter,  fires  were  blazing  round  about. 

When  the  parties  were  ready  to  play,  each  side 
chose  two  men.  They  also  picked  out  two  little 
balls,  about  the  size  of  a  marble,  and  of  the  same 
color  _  red,'  black,  or  yellow.  Then  a  man  was 
selected  to  strike  and  so  start  the  game.  When 
the  signal  was  given  him  by  the  umpire,  he  took 
both  of  the  balls  in  his  hands,  stood  up,  and  said : 
"I  choose  so  and  so  (naming  a  man)  in  my  place. 
I  am  so  brave  (then  he  went  on  to  tell  what  he 
had  done  in  former  games) .  Have  the  courage  to 
be  laughed  at.  Take  this  ball  and  hide  it  so  that 
the  others  cannot  find  it."  The  man  who  received 
the  other  ball  was  told  to  do  the  same.  Then  the 
men  chosen  in  both  parties  took  the  balls  in  their 
hands,  and  sang,  gesticulated,  and  threw  them 
about  as  slight-of-hand  men  do.  Another  man, 
standing  some  seven  to  ten  feet  away,  watched 
them,  and  tried  to  guess  where  the  ball  was.  He 
was  called  "the  striker  of  the  moccasins".  The 


GAMES  127 


players  watched  him,  too,  very  intently,  as  he 
made  various  motions.  Sometimes  he  closed 
down  three  fingers,  leaving  the  thumb  and  fore 
finger  open.  That  signified  that  he  thought  the 
balls  were  in  the  outside  hands  of  each  player. 
When  he  put  his  hand  straight  down,  with  the 
thumb  up,  he  thought  the  balls  were  in  the  right 
hand  of  one  man  and  in  the  left  of  the  other.  Per 
haps  he  motioned  with  two  fingers ;  then  he  meant 
that  the  balls  were  in  the  left  hands  of  each. 
When  he  made  a  sign  with  one  finger,  he  indicated 
that  the  balls  were  in  the  right  hand  of  each  man. 
If  the  striker  of  the  moccasins  guessed  correctly, 
the  players  had  to  show  him  the  balls.  When  he 
found  both  of  them  at  one  guess,  he  could  take 
them  from  the  men  and  would  give  them  to 
whomsoever  he  wished,  on  his  side.  The  record 
of  the  game  was  kept  by  the  arrangement 
of  twelve  sticks  for  each  party.  If  the  man 
chosen  to  do  the  guessing  happened  to  miss,  then 
his  side  lost  a  stick.  One  of  the  parties  may  have 
already  acquired  a  great  many  sticks;  but  if  a 
player  on  the  winning  side  by  mischance  let  the 
ball  drop  from  his  hand  to  the  ground,  the  other 
side  could  claim  all  the  sticks  won.  The  party 
who  took  all  the  sticks  would  win  the  game, 
therefore  the  goods  that  were  at  stake,  the  war- 
bonnets,  shirts,  bows,  arrows,  and  quivers,  and 
the  many  other  articles  played  for,  were  divided 
among  those  who  had  taken  part  in  the  sport. 
All  of  the  Sioux  Nation  played  the  game  in 


128  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

this  manner,  excepting  the  Sante  band,  who  used 
moccasins.  As  soon  as  the  game  was  called,  it 
proceeded  as  when  played  with  the  hands.  Those 
who  had  the  balls  took  off  their  moccasins  and 
covered  them  with  a  corner  of  their  blankets. 
This  prevented  the  people  from  seeing  whether 
both  balls  were  put  into  one,  or  one  into  each, 
moccasin.  The  man  who  watched  the  play  then 
took  a  stick  and  struck  the  moccasins  in  which 
he  thought  the  balls  were  placed. 

Among  games  for  women  was  one  called 
Throwing  Sticks— Paslo  hanpi  unpi.  Each  player 
had  a  stick  seven  feet  long,  with  a  buffalo  or  an 
elk  horn  fastened  to  one  end.  In  order  to  make 
it  fit  very  tight,  the  horn  was  boiled  and  placed 
on  the  stick  while  it  was  still  soft.  In  the  winter 
when  the  snow  was  hard  and  slippery,  a  number 
of  young  girls  went  out  in  the  open  with  these 
sticks  and  lined  up,  with  perhaps  four,  five,  or  six 
on  a  side.  Then  they  took  turns  in  throwing  or 
sliding  these  just  as  far  as  they  could  over  the 
frozen  snow.  The  side  having  the  larger  number 
of  those  who  threw  them  the  longer  distance  won 
the  game  and  all  the  beadwork  of  their  opponents 

as  well. 

Another  game  for  women  was  Icasdahe  ki- 
cunpi— Using  the  Balls.  Several  girls,  perhaps 
as  many  as  eight  in  number,  went  off  together 
in  the  winter  time  to  a  creek,  or  river,  some 
distance  away  from  camp.  They  took  with  them 
some  small  cylindrical  pieces  of  wood  about  two 


'  -J 


PIPE   POUCHES 


GAMES  129 

inches  in  height  and  the  same  in  diameter,  also  a 
few  little  wooden  balls.  After  they  had  built 
some  fires,  they  spread  their  robes  on  the  ice  and 
sat  down  for  the  game.  Each  side  was  about 
twenty  feet  apart.  One  of  the  small,  round  pieces 
of  wood  was  put  before  each  player.  All  in  turn 
tried  to  hit  these  with  the  little  balls,  each  one 
aiming  at  the  piece  in  front  of  the  girl  directly 
across  from  her.  If  she  succeeded  in  hitting  it, 
she  could  compel  the  girl  opposite  to  give  up  a 
piece  of  her  bead  or  porcupine  quill  work.  The 
game  went  on  for  a  long  time  until  all  the  goods 
played  for  were  handed  over  to  the  winning  side. 
The  girls  liked  to  play  this  game,  and  did  so  when 
ever  they  could  get  an  opportunity.  As  it  was 
done  quite  a  distance  from  their  people,  no  one 
was  about  to  watch  them.  The  young  men,  how 
ever,  usually  found  out  the  place  to  which  the  girls 
were  going,  and  were  sure  to  be  on  hand  to  view 
the  performance.  In  this  way  there  was  much 
merriment,  not  to  mention  love-making,  and  a 
charming  time  for  all  concerned. 

Natural  phenomena  have  always  had  a  great 
fascination  for  the  Indians,  and  some  among  them 
pretend  to  accumulate  knowledge  regarding  such 
phenomena.  Thus,  for  example,  thunder  was  ex 
plained  as  the  noise  of  people  trampling  around 
in  the  sky,  and  so  making  the  terrible  noise. 
Others  professed  to  know  about  birds,  which  told 
them  strange,  secret  things. 

In  order  that  this  benefit  might  be  obtained 


130  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

for  these  experts,  as  well  as  derived  from  them, 
a  great  circle  about  a  mile  in  diameter,  and  one  in 
which  thousands  could  assemble,  was  prepared, 
and  in  it  was  placed  a  huge  tent.  In  the  circle, 
too,  was  a  roaring  fire,  over  which  a  great  pot  was 
boiling.  In  this  were  thrown  a  buffalo's  tongue 
or  a  deer's  tongue,  or  a  fish.  Large  quantities  of 
other  things,  too,  were  boiling  and  steaming  in 
the  pot.  It  was  carefully  watched  by  the  man 
who  knew  the  secret  things.  Many  of  the  people 
rubbed  themselves  over  with  a  kind  of  root  which 
kept  them  from  being  scalded  by  the  boiling  con 
tents.  Then,  with  a  mad  rush,  they  all  began  to 
dance  around  the  kettle  and  so  sing  songs. 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

Little  Wind  belongs  to  me!      Tate  Ciqa  yena  mitawa  nun 
In  this  kettle  they  place  we 

A  deer  tongue  for  me!  Cega  de.ed  taceji  wan 

lyorpeyapi  e  mitawa  nunwe ! 

After  this  a  man  called  out :  "It  is  not  time 
yet."  It  was,  however,  a  signal  that  everything 
was  ready.  Immediately  all  pressed  violently 
forward  and  tried  to  grab  something  from  the 
steaming  contents  of  the  pot,  while  they  shouted 
and  yelled:  "Don't  come  over  here  with  that 
boiling  stuff!"  meaning  quite  the  opposite. 
Whereupon  they  ran  madly  about,  throwing  the 
hot  soup  and  stuff  all  over  one  another.  The  men 
who  got  the  buffalo  tongue  or  the  deer  tongue  or 
the  fish  were  the  ones  who  would  know  secret 


GAMES  131 


things.  As  may  be  imagined,  those  who  joined  in 
this  sport  were  covered  from  head  to  foot  with 
the  hot  grease.  A  clean  white  sheet  hung  up  a 
little  distance  away  afforded  an  opportunity  for 
the  crowd  to  rid  themselves,  in  part,  of  the  mess, 
until  it  was  in  the  same  condition  itself.  Where 
upon  the  players  took  a  swim  in  the  nearby  creek, 
and  in  that  way  cleaned  and  cooled  themselves, 
before  returning  to  camp. 

Occasionally  certain  men  were  credited  with  a 
secret  knowledge  of  what  the  enemy  was  doing 
outside  of  camp.  These  men  tied  flies'  nests  to 
their  ears  and  shook  them  around  as  they  danced. 
They  were  told  by  the  flies  regarding  the  move 
ments  and  the  plans  of  the  enemy ;  and  absorbed 
the  power,  or  the  spirit  of  the  flies.  They  were 
in  the  same  rank  as  those  having  the  spirit  of  the 
buffalo  or  the  deer. 

FLY  SONG.        •  HONAGILA  ODOWAN. 

The  things  going  on  Taku  yukan  hecin-han 

Were  told  to  me  Owasin  omakiyakapi  ece 

By  these  black  flies!  Honagina  sapena  kin  hena 

0  makayapaki  ece. 

Falling  Hail,  a  medicine  man,  professed  a 
special  degree  of  knowledge  regarding  secret 
things.  He  dressed  and  acted,  at  all  times,  as 
though  he  were  going  to,  or  were  present  at,  a 
performance  of  some  kind.  He  was  accustomed 
to  travel  about  the  country  dancing  and  telling  of 
his  doings,  but  with  an  odd  habit  of  always 


132  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

stating  the  opposite  of  what  he  meant.  Falling 
Hail  was  tall,  erect,  and  very  fine  looking.  On 
one  side  of  his  head  the  hair  was  shaved ;  on  the 
other  side,  it  grew  as  long  as  nature  allowed. 
Even  in  the  bitterest  weather  he  habitually  took 
off  all  his  clothes  and  painted  himself.  Yet  he 
never  was  known  to  take  cold,  nor  was  he  ever 
frostbitten.  He  lived  to  a  great  age. 

This  odd  habit  of  saying  one  thing  and  mean 
ing  another,  had  a  curious  illustration  in  one  Big 
Voice,  a  medicine  man  with  whom  Tipi  Sapa  was 
acquainted.  He  wore  his  hair  very  long  on  one 
side,  on  the  other  he  cut  it  off  just  above  the 
shoulder.  He  had  very  handsome  clothing  and 
belongings.  His  shirt,  blanket,  and  drum  were 
beautifully  trimmed  with  porcupine  quill  work. 
This  was  done  by  his  sister  who  excelled  in  the 
art.  Big  Voice  used  to  go  into  the  circle,  sing  his 
secret  songs,  and  dance  about.  In  summer,  when 
he  rode  his  horse  down  to  the  creek  for  a  drink,  he 
generally  sat  on  him  backward  and  drove  him 
forward.  He  often  visited  the  girls,  and  if  he 
fancied  one,  said  to  her :  "I  hate  you !  I  don't 
want  to  marry  you ;  so,  don't  say,  yes !"  The  girl 
favored  with  his  address  usually  knew  enough  to 
reply  in  the  same  backhanded  manner,  "No!  I 
don't  want  to  marry  youl"  Nevertheless,  Big 
Voice  had  only  one  wife. 

Once  upon  a  time  Big  Voice  started  off  with  a 
party  to  war.  When  the  enemy's  country  was 
reached,  he  sent  two  men  ahead  to  learn  whether 


GAMES  133 


they  were  really  at  home.  He  found  out  that  they 
were  in  the  country,  and  were  preparing  to  make 
an  attack  the  next  morning.  His  men  at  once  set 
to  work  at  painting  their  horses  and  dressing 
themselves.  Meantime  Big  Voice  had  painted 
himself  all  over  mud  color,  and  his  horse  the 
same,  but  only  on  one  side.  Then  he  tied  long 
strings  of  white  tape  (linen)  to  his  bridle  just  be 
low  the  chin.  After  these  "preparings"  he  said 
to  the  people:  "I  am  riding  a  horse  of  cloud. 
You  see  him.  I  have  tied  black  cords  to  him 
(meaning  the  opposite  of  white  linen  strings). 
He  will  run  all  day."  Next  morning  the  attack 
was  made.  Big  Voice  reached  the  neighborhood 
of  the  enemy  first  and  seized  some  horses.  One 
of  his  men  was  killed  and  his  scalp  taken.  As 
they  were  retreating  the  enemy  attacked  them 
with  great  force,  whereupon  Big  Voice  shouted 
to  his  men:  "Do  not  chase  the  enemy;  ride 
away  from  them !"  Actually  he  appears  to  have 
meant  that  they  should  turn  around  and  give 
chase.  He  himself  chased  the  enemy  a  long 
distance,  but  never  fired  a  shot,  because  some  of 
his  party  never  told  him  not  to  shoot.  During  the 
course  of  the  fighting  he  even  pursued  his  own 
people  and  fired  on  them,  making  out  that  they 
were  the  enemy  and  that  he  was  trying  to  defend 
his  friends.  He  acted  in  this  way  all  through  the 
fight,  until  the  enemy  was  wearied  out  and  the 
chase  brought  to  an  end.  After  it  was  over,  the 
people  said  to  one  another:  "Why  didn't  you 


134  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

tell  Big  Voice  not  to  fire  at  the  enemy?  Then  he 
would  have  done  it,  and  would  have  killed  many 
of  them." 

This  trick  of  saying  and  doing  the  opposite  of 
what  one  meant  seems  to  have  been  not  unusual 
among  the  Dakotas.  Whatever  attraction  it  may 
have  as  a  sport,  it  is  hardly  to  be  recommended  as 
promoting  either  understanding  or  discipline. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
BANDS  (WICOTI) 

Camping — Doings  of  Friendly  Bands  Camping  a 

Little  Distance  From  One  Another — 

Doings  of  Warriors  Meeting 

Together 

3T  was  said  before,  that  whenever  a  move  was 
made,  the  women  had  to  attend  to  everything 
connected  with  the  encampment.  Besides  taking 
care  of  the  tents  and  the  provisions,  cutting  wood, 
and  carrying  water,  there  were  many  other  things 
to  be  done.  The  entire  charge  of  the  "medicines" 
and  the  war  equipment  was  left  to  them.  The 
"medicines"  were  always  guarded  with  the  ut 
most  care.  Tied  in  bundles  and  wrapped  in  skins 
or  cloths,  they  were  suspended  on  tripods  five  or 
six  feet  in  height  set  up  behind  the  tipis  outside 
of  the  Circle.  It  was  not  thought  good  for  the 
medicines  to  have  people  constantly  passing  by 
them.  They  were  held  sacred,  and  were  to  be 
kept  free  from  impurity. 

The  accoutrements  of  war  —  shirts,  bonnets, 
shields,  quivers,  bows,  arrows,  spears,  lances, 
guns,  whips,  and  knives,  everything  used  in  fight- 


136  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

ing — were  hung  on  similar  poles  or  tripods  and 
arranged  directly  in  front  of  the  tipis.     They  were 
so  placed  as  to  be  within  easy  reach  of  the  men,  in 
case  of  a  sudden  attack  by  the  enemy.     In  wet 
weather,  the  women  covered  both  the  medicines 
and  the  war  equipments  with  soft  buffalo  robes. 
Friendly  bands  finding  themselves  encamped 
within  visiting  distance  of  each  other  usually  took 
advantage    of   the    opportunity,   but    even    such 
friendly  visits  were  accompanied  with  much  ex 
citement  and  warlike  show.     Horses  were  saddled 
and  weapons  assumed,  as  if  for  actual  hostilities, 
and  the  warriors  made  a  furious  advance  upon  the 
friendly  encampment,  riding  about  it,  firing  their 
guns,   shooting  their   arrows,  and  imitating,   as 
nearly  as  might  be  done  with  safety,  the  proceed 
ings  of  an  enemy  attack.     Seldom  was  anyone 
hurt  in  these  friendly  encounters  and  they  served 
not  only  as  an  opportunity  for  display  on  the  part 
of  the  visitors,  but  also  as  a  very  effective  warning 
to  their  hosts,  to  be  constantly  on  their  guard 
lest  similar  incursions  on  the  part  of  seemingly 
friendly  bands  might  find  them  unprepared. 

Two  parties  of  the  same,  or  of  other  bands, 
may  have  been  camping  a  little  distance  apart, 
and  one  may  not  have  known  that  the  other  was 
in  the  neighborhood.  The  party  that  was  un 
aware  may  have  said :  "Let  us  go  on  and  sit  with 
them,"  or  else,  "Let  us  go,  and  walk  in  and  sit 
with  them  like  Omahas."  (Many  years  ago,  the 
Omahas  had  a  way  of  entering  another  camp  sud- 


BANDS  137 


denly,  of  asking  for  tobacco,  and  making  them 
selves  at  home;  and  it  was  from  them  that  the 
Sioux  got  this  custom.)  The  members  of  the 
quasi-assailing  party  went  along  gaily,  singing 
songs.  As  soon  as  they  saw  the  camp  towards 
which  they  were  making  their  way,  they  sent  a 
crier  ahead  to  announce  their  approach.  When 
he  arrived,  he  said :  "Friends,  some  people  are 
coming,  in  fact,  they  are  right  here,  and  they  will 
sing  and  amuse  you.  They  want  to  smoke  your 
tobacco."  Then  the  company  walked  in,  and  sat 
and  smoked  with  them.  If  the  party  visited  were 
able  to  do  it,  they  gave  presents  of  horses,  cloth 
ing,  and  perhaps  many  other  articles,  to  those 
who  came  to  see  them. 

Sometimes  it  happened  that  two  parties  a  long 
way  off  from  one  another  started  out  for  a  friendly 
raid,  and  neither  knew  that  the  other  was  ap 
proaching.  As  the  criers  of  each  came  into  sight, 
the  companies  halted  then  and  there,  and  seated 
themselves  on  the  ground.  All  of  a  sudden,  they 
both  made  a  mad  rush  forward  and  became  in 
termingled.  Amid  the  noise  and  confusion  loud 
cries  were  heard  of:  "I  will  give  you  this!" 
"We  will  give  you  that !"  They  continued  shout 
ing  and  handing  around  their  belongings  until 
everything  on  both  sides  was  given  away;  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  one  party  completely  changed 
goods  with  the  other.  This  was  called  fighting 
and  giving  away — Ituran  kicizapi. 

There  was  still  another  kind  of  doings  among 


138  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

the  bands;  that  of  soldiers  meeting  together— 
akicita  ecipapi.  A  band  started  out  to  hunt  buf 
falo,  and  on  the  way  met  another  bent  upon  the 
same  object.  Then  one  party  rushed  upon  the 
other  and  fought  desperately ;  beating  them  hard 
with  their  whips,  bows,  and  spears.  None  were 
killed,  but  many  were  quite  badly  injured.  After 
this,  both  went  together  and  chased  the  buffalo. 
When  a  mile  away  from  the  herd  they  came  to  a 
standstill,  and  made  of  themselves  two  equal  di 
visions.  Eight  men,  called  soldiers,  were  chosen, 
who  took  their  position  in  front  of  the  crowd  and 
kept  them  from  pushing  forward.  Anyone  who 
dared  to  go  beyond  them  toward  the  buffalo,  was 
severely  beaten  by  these  men;  or,  perhaps,  had 
his  horse  shot  under  him  by  an  arrow  from  one 
of  them.  If  he  still  persisted  in  going,  he  was 
thrashed  harder  than  ever ;  possibly  killed  on  the 
spot.  Occasionally  it  happened  that  a  man  suc 
ceeded  in  rushing  past  these  soldiers ;  but  he  was 
brought  back  and  flogged  in  such  a  manner  that 
he  was  too  badly  injured  to  go  to  the  hunt,  and 
was  obliged  to  return,  in  the  best  way  he  could, 
to  the  circle.  If  he  kept  perfectly  quiet  and  took 
his  punishment  well,  he  was  invited  by  the 
soldiers  to  a  dinner  in  camp  after  the  hunt.  They 
then  told  him  that  they  did  not  want  to  treat  him 
so  roughly,  but  it  was  their  duty  to  keep  order, 
and  for  others  to  obey  commands.  To  make 
further  amends,  they  perhaps  gave  him  a  horse,  or 
something  else  of  value. 


BANDS  139 


As  related  before,  the  old  men  were  supposed 
to  receive  a  good  share  of  the  buffalo  meat,  which 
was  given  to  them  by  the  hunters.  They  sang 
the  praises  of  these  young  men  for  their  kindness 
and  generosity  and  thus  secured  for  them  the 
good  opinion  of  everyone  in  camp. 

SONG    (OF  THE  OLD  MEN).  ODOWAN  KIN. 

A  Pawnee  Indian  lies  down:  Padani  wan  hedwanke  do; 

Sunrise  has  killed  him!  Wihinape  he  econwe! 

Sunrise  is  brave!  Wihinape  iyahahe! 

Sunrise  is  brave!  Wihinape  iyahahe! 

There  was  still  another  custom  common 
among  the  Dakotas.  When  one  of  the  bands  was 
defeated  in  war,  the  members  were  desirious  of 
taking  revenge,  but  felt  that  they  would  not  be 
successful  by  themselves.  They  therefore  sent 
out  representatives  in  deep  mourning  to  go  in 
search  of  help  from  a  different  band.  As  soon  as 
the  messengers  met  with  the  friends  whom  they 
were  seeking,  they  sat  on  the  ground  with  bowed 
heads  and  covered  their  faces  with  their  hands. 
An  old  man  was  appointed  to  do  the  speaking; 
and  he  went  around  and  placed  his  hands  on  the 
heads  of  the  men  in  the  band  that  was  being  called 
upon  for  help.  As  he  did  this,  he  said:  "My 
friends,  I  am  old,  I  want  to  take  revenge  on  my 
enemies,  but  cannot  do  much;  will  you  help  us? 
If  you  do,  we  will  give  you,  after  the  battle  is 
over,  five  hundred  head  of  colts  as  a  reward. 
Answer  me!  Will  you  help  us?"  The  men  to 


140  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

whom  this  appeal  was  made  pondered  things  for 
awhile;  then  they  replied:  "We  will  go  home 
first,  talk  it  over  with  some  more  of  our  people, 
and  let  you  know."  Thereupon  these  same  men 
went  to  camp  and  related  the  affair  to  the  chiefs 
and  leaders.  When  they  had  reached  a  decision, 
they  sent  a  message  to  the  visiting  men  who  re 
quired  the  assistance  from  them.  If  this  decision 
were  favorable  to  the  latter,  a  great  feast  was  held 
to  which  they  were  invited.  Then  it  was  said  to 
them  :  "You  lead  the  way,  because  you  know  the 
country,  but  give  us  authority  to  attack  the  enemy 
when  we  see  them,  and  to  fight  them  in  our  own 
way.  If  you  will  agree  to  that,  we  will  smoke 
the  pipe  of  peace  with  you;  if  not,  we  will  give 
you  no  help."  In  case  the  agreement  was  made, 
those  who  were  to  furnish  assistance  said  further : 
"Choose  the  time  and  place  of  meeting."  The 
two  parties  met  at  the  time  and  in  the  place  ap 
pointed  and  started  out  together  for  the  attack. 
After  a  vigorous  encounter,  the  enemy  were  in  all 
probability  defeated.  When  the  fighting  was 
over,  the  men  who  had  been  in  trouble  gave,  as 
they  had  promised,  five  hundred  head  of  colts 
to  those  who  had  helped  them  in  the  battle; 
and  everything  was  arranged  satisfactorily  to  all 
concerned. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

A  BUNDLE  OF  TOBACCO— CANDI 
WOPARTE 

A  Bundle  of  Tobacco  in  the  Tribe  —  How  it  is 
Carried  to  a  Different  Tribe 

SURING  the  winter  of  1866,  the  United  States 
Government  invited  some  of  the  Dakota 
chiefs  and  leaders  to  go  to  Washington.  A  num 
ber  of  them  went,  and  remained  until  the  spring 
of  1867.  The  officials  talked  with  these  Indians 
about  peace  and  tried  to  come  to  terms  with 
them;  but  nothing  of  any  importance  resulted. 
On  their  return  to  Dakota,  Francis  des  Lauriers, 
the  father  of  Tipi  Sapa,  called  a  big  meeting  in 
camp.  He  suggested  that  bags  of  tobacco  be  sent 
to  the  different  bands  of  Dakotas,  with  the  re 
quest  that  they  should  stop  fighting  with  the 
white  people.  Acting  upon  this  advice,  the  Yank- 
ton  Sioux  prepared  a  quantity  of  tobacco  mixed 
with  kinnickinnick,  and  packed  it  in  small  bags, 
which  were  slung  by  strings  around  the  necks  of 
messengers.  The  latter  were  sent  first  to  the 
Uncpapas  (Sitting  Bull's  people),  but  met  with 
no  favor.  The  runners,  shaking  off  the  dust  of 


142  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

this  tribe  from  their  feet,  passed  on  to  the  Minni- 
kanwojus  (Planting  near  the  water).  These  people 
having  left  their  own  reservation,  were  then  living 
in  Montana,  along  the  Powder  river.  When  they 
came  into  camp,  the  leaders  who  were  assembled 
around  the  camp  fire,  asked  them  whence  they 
came.     The  runners  answered :     "We  come  from 
the  Yankton  band."     "What  do  you  want  ?"  asked 
the  leader  of  the  Minnikanwojus.     "We  want  you 
to   stop   fighting  the  whites,"   replied  the   mes 
senger  of  the  Yanktons,  "and  come  back  to  your 
own  reservation  and  settle  down."     After  much 
discussion,  the  chiefs  and  leaders  finally  agreed 
to  do  as  the  Yankton  leaders  suggested.     Taking 
the  pipe  of  peace,  and  pointing  it  to  heaven,  to 
the  four  corners  of  the  winds,  and  to  the  earth, 
they  filled  it  with  tobacco  from  the  bundles  of 
the  Yanktons,  smoked  it,  and  made  their  solemn 
oath  to  the  Supreme  Being  above.     So  the  pledge 
was    made.     Then    turning   to    the    messengers, 
they  said:     "Go  back  to  your  own  chiefs,   my 
friends,  and  tell  them  this :     'You  are  kind ;  you 
are  thoughtful;   we  accept  your   bundle   of  to 
bacco'."     Upon   receiving   the   report    from    the 
Minnikanwojus  that  the  latter  were  willing  to  re 
turn  to  their  reservation  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Fort  Bennett  and  that,  as  a  pledge  of  good  faith, 
their  chief,  White  Swan,  would  come  in  the  fol 
lowing  Spring  as  the  representative  of  his  tribe 
to  renew,  with  the  Yanktons,  the  oath  to  which 
his    tribe   had  bound   themselves,   the  Yankton 


A  BUNDLE  OF  TOBACCO  143 

messengers  returned  to  their  own  tribe.  On  his 
arrival  White  Swan  was  received  most  cordially 
by  the  Yankton  chiefs  and  urged  with  great 
solemnity  to  remain  faithful  to  the  most  solemn 
oath  which  it  was  possible  for  an  Indian  to  take 
— the  oath  sworn  over  the  pipe  of  peace  and  the 
bundle  of  tobacco. 

Meantime  Little  Hawk,  one  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Uncpapas,  had  reconsidered  the  Yankton  pro 
posal  and  had  decided  to  enter  into  an  agreement 
with  General  Custer.  His  plea  was  based  on  the 
ground  that  his  people  did  not  wish  to  fight 
with  the  whites,  but  did  desire  liberty  to  roam 
freely  as  heretofore  and  to  hunt  the  buffalo  with 
out  being  disturbed.  "We  cannot  do  this",  said 
Little  Hawk,  "because  you  fire  on  us  and  trouble 
us  all  the  time,  and  we  must  defend  ourselves. 
Come  and  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace  with  us." 
Custer  assented,  and  went  with  Little  Hawk  to 
the  camp  of  the  Uncpapas.  The  leader  took  the 
pipe,  pointed  it  to  heaven,  to  the  four  corners  of 
the  winds,  and  to  the  earth,  smoked  it,  and  passed 
it  to  the  white  chief  and  to  the  other  leaders. 
Custer  smoked  the  pipe  with  them,  thereby  taking 
the  oath  of  peace.  The  leader  of  the  Uncpapas 
then  said  to  him :  "If  you  break  this  oath,  you 
will  be  punished  by  the  Supreme  Being;  if  we 
break  it,  so  will  we  suffer."  The  conclave  was  a 
solemn  one,  the  oath,  at  least  in  Indian  eyes,  the 
most  binding  possible.  But  Custer  appears  to 
have  been  unimpressed.  The  oath  was  broken 


144  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIP1  SAP  A 

almost  immediately.  For  two  months  desultory 
fighting  continued.  Then  came  the  battle  of 
Little  Big  Horn,  and  General  Custer's  death. 

Edward,  the  son  of  Little  Hawk,  lives  to-day 
in  Wakpala,  and  is  a  communicant  of  St.  Eliza 
beth's  Church. 

In  sending  a  message  to  a  different  tribe  the 
Sioux  observed   much   ceremony   in   connection 
with  the  pipe  of  peace  and  the  bundle  of  tobacco. 
A  buffalo-skin  bag  was  filled  with  tobacco  and 
kinnickinnick,  fastened  securely  at  the  top,  and 
painted  blue.     Several  long  pieces  of  the  tobacco 
plant  and  a  pipe  of  peace  were  tied  together  with 
this  bag ;  and  all  was  placed  in  a  handsome  cloth 
to  be  carried  by  the  messenger.    A  man  experi 
enced  in  this  "doing"  took  the  pipe  of  peace  and 
went  through  the  usual  ceremony  with  it,  saying 
to  the  Supreme  Being:     "Will  you  help  us  do 
this?"     He  then   explained  to   those  assembled 
with  him  that  the  bag  was  painted  blue,  because 
that  was  the  color  of  the  sky.     Turning  to  the 
messenger,  he  said:     "You  will  want  a  day  for 
your  errand  with   a  clear  blue  sky,  when   God 
(Wakantanka)  has  mowed  away  all  the  clouds. 
Go  to  these  people,  and  find  a  man  who  will  listen 
to  you."    The  runner  set  out  for  the  camp  of  the 
other  tribe,  and,  upon  his  arrival,  asked  for  the 
leading  men.     After  the  usual  formalities,  he  laid 
his  bundle  before  them  and  said :     "I  am  sent  here 
to  ask  you  to  keep  the  peace  with   the  white 
people.     You  may  suffer  great  injury  if  you  per- 


A  BUNDLE  OF  TOBACCO  145 

sist  in  fighting  with  them.  We  Yankton  Dakotas 
want  to  give  you  fair  warning ;  and  we  advise  you 
to  be  friendly  with  the  whites."  The  leaders  of 
the  other  tribe  talked  back  and  forth  over  the  mes 
sage,  and  after  weighing  the  matter  well,  either 
gave  or  withheld  their  consent.  If  a  favorable 
answer  were  decided  upon,  the  pipe  of  peace  was 
taken  from  the  bundle  brought  by  the  runner, 
the  usual  oath  was  taken,  and  the  tobacco  was 
smoked,  thus  binding  the  tribe  to  their  agreement. 
On  the  whole,  the  Yankton  Dakotas  seem  to  have 
been  honestly  pacific  toward  the  whites  and  to 
have  used  whatever  influence  they  had  with  other 
tribes  to  bring  about  a  friendly  attitude.  It  is 
doubtful,  however,  how  far  this  attitude  was 
either  realized  or  appreciated. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  SUN  DANCE 

A  Reunion  of  All  the  Bands 

JJf  HE  annual  Sun  Dance  of  the  Sioux  was  an 
ill'  occasion  of  great  importance  and  significance. 
At  the  appointed  season  runners  were  sent  out  to 
notify  the  people  that  they  were  all  to  assemble, 
for  certain  purposes,  social  and  otherwise,  for  at 
least  two  months  during  the  summer.  The  latter 
part  of  June  was  a  favorite  time;  for  then  the 
Juneberries  were  ripe  and  provided  a  welcome 
addition  to  the  food-supply.  When  the  bands 
gathered  for  such  an  occasion,  a  very  large  circle 
was  made  in  the  centre  of  which  a  great  tent 
was  erected.  This  tipi  was  occupied,  day  and 
night,  by  the  leading  men.  Here  they  sat  and 
talked  back  and  forth,  reviewing  all  that  had 
been  taught  them,  and  gaining  fresh  ideas  from 
going  over  the  old  teachings.  Upon  their  return 
to  their  respective  bands,  they  took  with  them 
whatever  of  new  learning  or  experience  they  had 
acquired  in  the  conclave. 

On  pleasant  summer  evenings,  the  young  men 


THE  SUN  DANCE  147 

put  on  their  finest  wearings,  and  rode  their 
horses  all  around  outside  the  big  circle.  They 
made  as  much  show  as  possible  in  order  to  at 
tract  the  attention  of  the  girls.  Another  "doing" 
at  this  great  gathering  was  for  both  girls  and 
young  men  from  the  different  bands  to  dress 
gaily,  assemble  in  the  circle,  and  dance  nearly 
all  night. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  purely  social  festivi 
ties,  one  of  the  leaders  issued  a  solemn  call  to 
prayer.  On  hearing  this,  parties  of  young  men 
rode  off  at  once  to  the  timber  and  gathered  leaves 
from  which  to  weave  war-bonnets.  Leafy 
branches  were  torn  from  the  trees  and  brought 
to  the  camp,  where  they  were  rapidly  put  to 
gether  in  the  form  of  a  green  booth  or  shelter 
near  the  large  tipi  in  the  centre  of  the  Circle. 
Others  cut  the  tallest  tree  they  could  find  for  a 
pole,  and  fetched  it  along  swinging  between 
horses.  In  the  middle  of  the  booth  they  dug  a 
deep  hole  in  which  were  placed  a  woman's  work- 
bag,  containing  needles,  scissors,  beads,  and 
porcupine  quills,  together  with  some  fat  of  the 
buffalo.  The  pole  was  then  set  up,  and  the  hole 
filled  in.  From  the  top  of  the  pole  was  hung  a 
cross  made  of  green  leaves,  to  which  was  tied 
another  work-bag.  These  two  bags  signified,  at 
this  special  time,  liberty  and  freedom  for  the 
women.  In  fact,  the  pole,  thus  erected  in  the 
early  morning,  was  properly  a  liberty-pole,  The 
men  painted  themselves  with  the  colors  of  the 


148  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAP  A 

earth  —  red,    green,    yellow,    brown,    or    black; 
placed  strings  of  otter-skins  around  their  necks; 
and,    over   their   chests,   decorations   of    eagles' 
feathers.     Skirts  like  those  of  the  women  were 
donned,  while  across  their  shoulders  were  thrown 
buffalo  robes,  with  the  hair  side  out.     On  this 
great   religious   occasion   it   was   considered  ir 
reverent  to  touch  any  part  of  one's  flesh  with 
the  fingers.     In  case  it  were  necessary  to  do  so, 
little    sticks    neatly    decorated    with    porcupine 
quills,  and  placed  in  the  hair  at  the  top  of  the 
braid,  were  provided  for  this  purpose.     Thus  pre 
pared  for  the  great  ceremonial,  the  procession 
began  to  move  towards  the  booth.     It  was  led 
by  a  man  carrying  a  buffalo  head  in  front  of  the 
chief  dancer,  the  latter  bearing  the  pipe  of  peace. 
As  they  walked  the  people  mourned  and  wept. 
Passing  into  the  booth   they  hung  the  buffalo 
head  over  the  liberty-pole.     The  pipe  of  peace 
was  laid  on  sticks  provided  for  it,  and  was  used 
in  the  same  solemn  manner  as  it  was  on  other 
occasions.     The  men  sat  in  the  booth  in  their 
buffalo  robes,  while  the  singers  arranged  them 
selves  about  a  dried  buffalo  hide  stretched  on  the 
ground,  upon   which   they   pounded  vigorously. 
The  first  tone  was  repeated  four  times,  and  all 
sang  to  the  beating  of  the  drum  and  the  blowing 
of  the  flutes.     When  the  chief  singer  threw  off 
his  buffalo  robe  and  went  out,  the  rest  of  the 
people  did  the  same  and  followed  him.     It  was 
then  that  the  actual  dance  began.     A  dancer  pro- 


THE  SUN  DANCE  149 

vided  with  a  lasso,  handed  it,  with  a  suitable  gift, 
to  a  selected  man  known  to  be  experienced  in  the 
part  he  had  to  play,  i.  e.}  to  draw  up  the  loose 
skin  on  either  side  of  the  dancer's  chest,  on  each 
shoulder,  and  frequently  on  the  outside  of  each 
arm  near  the  shoulder,  to  pierce  the  skin,  and 
through  the  incisions  draw  the  lasso  and  fasten 
it  securely  to  the  liberty  pole.  The  lasso  rope 
was  drawn  through  all  these  incisions  and  then 
tied  securely  to  the  liberty  pole.  After  this,  the 
man  danced  furiously,  and  pulled  until  his  skin 
was  broken.  Sometimes,  instead  of  the  lasso, 
four  buffalo  heads  were  attached  to  the  slits  in 
the  skin,  two  in  front  and  two  behind  (none  on 
the  arms),  and,  with  the  rapid  motion  of  the 
dance,  caused  it  to  part  asunder.  Every  time  a 
break  was  made  in  his  skin,  the  relatives  of  the 
dancer  had  to  give  something  to  the  poor.  When 
all  the  places  were  broken,  the  women  gathered 
around  him  and  sang  : 

"Li!  Li!  Li!  Li!  Li!  Li!" 

meaning,  What  a  brave  man  you  are  ! 

This  great  ceremony  lasted  two  days  and  a 
night.  During  that  time,  not  a  morsel  of  food 
was  touched,  neither  was  anything  taken  to  drink. 
After  the  sun  went  down,  the  dancers  gazed  upon 
the  moon.  It  was  the  most  sacred  and  solemn 
occasion  of  the  whole  year. 

All  the  people  followed  the  chief  dancer,  and 


150  THE  PEOPLE  OF  T1PI  SAP  A 

went,  keeping  step  to  the  music,  towards  the  sun, 
which,  by  this  time,  was  well  up  in  the  sky.  They 
had  many  petitions  to  make ;  and  offered  prayers 
through  the  sun  to  the  Supreme  Being.  One  man 
wanted  horses,  and  had  tied  small  figures  of  them 
to  his  hand.  Another  desired  to  kill  some  one 
and  carried  a  little  image  of  his  enemy.  He  sang 
as  follows: 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

Great    Spirit,    have    mercy      Wakantanka  onsimadaye 

upon  me!  Tasunke  koya  maqu  yeyo! 

Give  him   (i.  e.  my  enemy) 

to  me 
With  his  horse! 

After  gazing  steadily  for  hours  in  the  direction 
of  the  sun,  the  man  who  wanted  horses  imagined 
he  perceived  a  horse's  head,  so  his  prayer  was 
answered.  The  one  who  desired  to  kill  his  enemy 
had  the  vision  of  a  figure  of  a  man  appear  be 
fore  him,  and  sang  to  avow  the  response  to  his 
prayer. 

SoNG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

The    Gros    Ventres    Indian      Eea  Rewaktokta  he 
sai(l  U  kta  keye  ciqon 

He  was   going   to   come   to      Wana  hi  yedo. 
me! 

He  is  here  now  in  spirit. 

Some  one  who  prayed  that  he  wished  to  be 
married  had  his  prayer  answered  by  seeing  the 


THE  SUN  DANCE  151 

vision  of  a  woman.     The  Yankton  men  had  a  little 
song  of  their  own : 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN.    (Akiyapapi.) 

You     women,     keep     away  Winyan  kin  akoka 

from  me !  econpiye  yo ! 

I  don't  want  you!  Cicinpi  Sni  yedo 

I  want  a  woman  from  Sicanqu  winyan  ecena  wacin 

"The  Burning  Thighs"!  ye! 

The  Burning  Thighs  —  Sicanju  —  were  the 
Rosebud  Indians,  and  if  any  of  them  wished  to 
marry,  they  sang: 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

Go  away,    (you  woman!)  (Winyan)  kin  ako  econpiye! 

I  do  not  want  you;  Cicinpi  sni  yedo! 

I  want  to  marry  a  Ihankton   wan   winyan   e 

Yankton  woman!  Bduza  wacin  yedo! 

If  a  woman  who  had  been  living  with  her  hus 
band  according  to  the  first  or  second  form  of 
marriage,  had  run  away  with  another  man,  they 
sang: 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

Tall    woman,    why    do    you  Winyan   hanska,   toka  e 

leave  your  home?  Tiwahe  du  ha  he? 

Your  home  is  here  without  Nita  wakeya  qon  enna  hedo 

you! 

Meaning:  "You  were  respected.  Why  did 
you  act  in  such  a  way?  You  have  disgraced  the 
tribe." 

White  Swan,  of  whom  mention  has  been  made, 


152  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

was  terribly  thirsty  from  dancing  night  and  day. 
Some  men  brought  water  and  drank  it  before  him. 
He  went  on,  without  paying  any  attention  to 
these  aggravating  creatures. 

SONG.  ODOWAN  KIN. 

White   Swan,   do  you  want      Magaska  qon  mini  yacin  he? 

any  water?  Dena  mini  e 

Here  is  some  water;  Un    kiyeqe    unyatkan    han- 

We  are  enjoying  it.  pedo. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
THE  PRESENT  AND  THE  FUTURE 

HE  story  of  this  little  book  has  been  told  by 
me.  I,  Tipi  Sapa,  know  that  the  moral  code 
as  said  to  be  given  by  the  Woman  has  been  care 
fully  lived  up  to  in  the  Sans  Arcs  band,  so  that 
the  members  of  that  band  are  powers  even  now 
for  their  gentleness  and  generosity  and  truthful 
ness.  Just  as  the  Pipe  of  Peace  became  universal, 
so  also  did  this  moral  code.  It  must  be  under 
stood,  however,  that  it  was  observed  among  the 
bands  of  Dakotas  only.  Outside  the  tribe,  it  did 
not  hold,  since  men  felt  that  it  was  their  duty  to 
kill  and  rob  the  enemy  before  the  enemy  killed  and 
robbed  them. 

Many  stories  I  know  are  true.  Many  cere 
monies  I  have  seen  performed.  Some  of  the 
other  stories  I  got  from  men  who  obtained  them 
from  their  ancestors ;  and  some  of  the  ceremonies 
here  described  were  out  of  date  before  my  time. 
I  write  what  I  know  to  be  true,  and  what  I 
gathered  from  my  people. 

I  know  full  well  that  some  of  you  who  read 
this  will  smile  at  a  simple  people's  simple  beliefs. 


154  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIP1  SAP  A 

I  beg  you  to  remember  that  the  Dakotas  saw 
quite  as  far  as  it  was  given  them  to  see  in  their 
time  and  on  that  plane  of  their  development. 
Perhaps  time  was  when  the  whites  saw  no  further 
and  did  no  better. 

I  know  that  in  future  such  beliefs  and  such 
ways  of  living  as  were  adequate  in  the  past  would 
be  very  insufficient.  But  alas,  many  Indians  do 
not  realize  this  fact. 

Forty  or  fifty  years  ago,  the  Great  Spirit 
raised  up  His  right  hand  and  pointed  the  fore 
finger  westward.  He  said:  "I  want  to  save 
these  My  children."  On  hearing  His  voice,  you 
answered :  "Use  us  to  help  save  them."  In  this 
way,  the  Church  was  given  to  the  Indians,  and 
has  brought  with  he?  the  teachings  of  God's  love ; 
that  love  which  can  and  does  touch  men's  hearts 
and  bring  about  a  better  life  for  all. 

For  years  the  Christian  white  people  among 
us  have  maintained  the  work  of  the  Church.  In 
vain  ?  No  indeed !  Many  men  and  women  have 
been  influenced  by  this  great  Love  of  God  as  re 
vealed  by  the  Church  all  through  life  and  now 
they  have  died  in  the  Faith.  Can  I  count  them? 
It  is  a  hard  thing  to  do. 

Many  there  are  who  formerly  lived  by,  and 
found  sufficient,  the  old  laws  and  customs.  But 
now,  in  their  enlightenment,  they  could  not  go 
back. 

When  the  Bible  came  to  the  Dakotas,  it  seemed 
most  strange  to  them  that  neither  their  medicine 


THE  PRESENT  AND  THE  FUTURE  155 

men  nor  their  other  wise  men  could  any  longer 
control  evil  spirits,  or  the  spirit  of  the  buffalo ;  the 
deer  or  the  flies.  They  believe  now  that  those 
spirits  are  subservient  to  the  Holy  Spirit. 

My  people  are  an  essentially  religious  people. 
When  once  they  understand  the  Christian 
teaching,  they  prove  to  be  devoted  and  faithful 
followers.  As  an  example  of  this  I  cite  the 
conversion  of  Chief  Gall. 

This  man  was  a  prominent  chief,  and  served 
under  Sitting  Bull  in  the  Custer  massacre.  Be 
cause  he  fought  on  the  Indian  side,  the  soldiers 
were  after  him.  One  day  when  he  came  to  a 
camp  friendly  to  the  whites  the  soldiers  sur 
rounded  the  camp  and  caught  Gall,  although  he 
tried  to  escape.  They  ran  their  bayonets  into  his 
body,  one  into  his  head  and  one  into  his  back.  Be 
cause  he  fell  in  deep  snow,  they  left  him  after 
covering  him  up  with  snow,  thinking  he  was  dead. 

Afterwards,  Gall  recovered  consciousness, 
bound  his  wounds  with  a  part  of  his  robe,  and 
walked  twenty  miles  to  another  camp,  where  an 
Indian  doctor  attended  him. 

Later  in  his  life  he  came  to  live  a  half  mile 
away  from  my  chapel.  He  used  to  come  to  the 
services,  sit  in  a  chair  in  the  rear  of  the  chapel, 
and  simply  listen. 

One  day  he  invited  me  to  come  and  see  him. 
He  said : 

"Many  years  back  I  was  a  bad  man.  Soldiers 
thought  they  had  killed  me.  But  God  gave  me 


156  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

power  to  recover.  He  sent  me  to  live  near  this 
church.  The  reason  I  attend  the  services  is  to 
learn  the  true  meaning  of  the  services,  through 
hearing  sermons  *  and  prayers.  All  I  hear  have 
combined  to  make  my  poor  heart  see  a  Man  in 
these  services.  He  is  called  the  Son  of  God.  This 
Man  lived  rightly  towards  God  and  towards  this 
earth ;  His  words  are  truth  and  His  deeds  are  kind, 
loving,  and  merciful.  Far  better  this  than  the 
old  life.  I  thought  old  life  is  true  life,  so  did  all 
I  could  for  it,  and  endured  many  hardships  for  it. 
But  God  sent  me  here  to  find  the  true  life.  I  have 
made  up  my  mind  to  leave  old  life,  and  take  unto 
myself  Jesus  Christ.  I  will  spend  the  remainder 
of  my  life  following  him.  I  believe  that  at  an 
appointed  time  He  will  take  my  spirit  away,  and 
then  I  want  my  poor  body  returned  to  dust  with 
Christian  burial." 

According  to  his  wish,  Chief  Gall  was  baptized 
and  confirmed  at  the  next  visit  of  Bishop  Hare, 
and  was  given  Christian  burial  when  he  died.  He 
sleeps  in  St.  Elizabeth's  Cemetery,  a  third  of  a 
mile  away  from  the  chapel. 

The  church  on  this  reservation  was  still  young 
at  the  time  of  the  "Messiah  Craze",  about  which 
every  one  knows,  doubtless.  At  that  time,  fam 
ilies  were  in  many  cases  divided,  and  it  was  as 
sad  a  period  as  your  own  Civil  War.  Some  people 


*  Chief  Gall  could  recite,  word  for  word,  after  having  only 
once  heard  them,  the  readings  from  the  Bible,  and  the  sermon 
as  well.  The  Indians  are  noted  for  their  wonderful  memories. 


THE  PRESENT  AND  THE  FUTURE  157 

were  for  the  teachings  of  the  "Messiah  Religion", 
while  others  were  for  the  Christian  Religion. 
Those  Indians  who  were  Christians  came  and 
camped  about  this  mission  for  protection. 
Through  the  entire  trouble  the  work  here  grew 
steadily. 

These  were  proofs  of  what  the  Christian 
Church  could  do  for  the  Indians  who  accepted  it. 

It  is  a  most  thankworthy  thing  that  the  be 
lievers  in  Missions  have  so  helped  the  Indians  by 
maintaining  the  Church  among  them.  I  know 
that  the  Church,  and  the  Church  only,  is  able  to 
solve  the  future  of  the  Indian.  Those  who  are 
helping  are  doing  so  primarily  because  they  recog 
nize  the  true  Love  of  God  and  are  desirous  of 
living  according  to  its  teachings.  By  helping  the 
Indian  these  people  are  helping  themselves  and 
earning  for  themselves  blessings  unspeakable. 

If  you  could  look  into  the  corners  of  our  hearts, 
you  could  hear  us  saying:  "We  thank  you, 
Great  Spirit!  Never  bend  your  forefinger  away 
from  us." 

If  I  were  like  the  wind,  so  that  I  could  go  to 
every  one,  I  would  visit  the  hearts  of  those  who 
have  helped  us.  I  would  give  them  all  a  universal 
greeting.  I  would  say  to  them :  "On  behalf  of 
my  poor  race  I  thank  you !" 

I  know  that  many  people,  for  all  their  enlight 
enment,  do  not  as  yet  see  that  True  Love  of  God 
in  its  fullest  form.  If  they  did,  they  would  help 
others,  and  be  less  selfish.  Would  that  all  might 


158  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TIPI  SAPA 

see  the  True  Love  is  my  sincerest  prayer !  Is  it 
possible,  I  wonder,  for  us  to  hold  fast  to  our 
•blessings  temporal  and  spiritual,  with  never  a 
thought  to  help  those  about  us,  and  still  to  enjoy 
those  blessings  to  the  full?  Christian  white 
people,  I  know  you  do  not  want  the  Great  Spirit's 
ringer  to  be  bent.  You  want  it  to  continue  point 
ing  to  the  Indian  people. 


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